THE GREATEST ADVENTURE IN THE WORLD IS…

OBEYING JESUS’S COMMAND TO

“GO!”

Matt. 22:9 ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’

Matt. 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

Mark 5:19 “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Luke 10:3 “Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”

Luke 10:37 And he said, “The one (good Samaritan) who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Luke 14:23 ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.’

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Wonderfully, Jesus doesn’t ask us to go alone. Rather, He says that we will be going “for” Him (John 20:21), we will be going “with” Him (Mt. 28:20), and we will be going “to” Him (Mt. 25:40)

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A primary mission of this ministry is…

to ignite a passion in people for Jesus’s mission among the nations

and provide opportunities for them to go.

Short-Term Mission Trips

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Each trip typically covers 1-2 weeks in length and depending on the trip and the country may have a focus specific to orphans, medical, crusades, education, etc. or may include multiple aspects of each focus per trip.

South America

We have been blessed to lead dozens of trips to Colombia. The cost of trip is $1500.00 + airfare. The price is all inclusive except for souvenirs. It covers meals, transportation, snacks, lodging, and donations to the orphanages and churches that we will be interacting with. Should you choose to collect items to take in an additional piece of luggage for the orphans (games, markers, crafts, toys, socks, etc.) please raise the additional $70.00 extra bag fee. There is no visa requirement or shots, only a valid passport.

Africa

We have led multiple trips to Zambia, Rwanda, & Liberia. The cost of trips to Africa are still to be determined but will be approximately $2000 + airfare. Trips are all inclusive except for souvenirs. Cost covers meals, transportation, snacks, airfare, lodging, and donations to the orphanages and churches that we will be interacting with. We are taking preliminary applications for Africa.

Asia

We have led trips to Nepal and Pakistan. The cost of trips to Asia are still to be determined but will be approximately $2000 + airfare. Trips are all inclusive except for souvenirs. Cost covers meals, transportation, snacks, airfare, lodging, and donations to the orphanages and churches that we will be interacting with. We are taking preliminary applications for Asia.

OUR NEXT MISSION TRIP IS PLANNED FOR MOROTO UGANDA SEPTEMBER 25 – OCTOBER 3, 2021

APPLY HERE
 

Contact Us For More Information

Mid-Term Mission Internships

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Interns typically serve 3-6 months in the field assisting existing missionaries and enjoying an extensive training program designed to heighten their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s leading in their lives and to provide them with practical skills needed to serve in ministry.

Contact Us For More Information

Long-Term Cross-Cultural Missions

 
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Missionaries typically serve indefinitely in the field as God leads. They may take on roles within existing ministries partnering with Mission Critical International or press into new territory for the Lord with our help, support, and backing.

Contact Us For More Information

 
 
[quote author=”- James S. Stewart” type=”static”]“The concern for world evangelization is not something tacked on to a man’s personal Christianity, which he may take or leave as he chooses. It is rooted in the character of the God who has come to us in Christ Jesus. Thus, it can never be the province of a few enthusiasts, a sideline or a specialty of those who happen to have a bent that way. It is the distinctive mark of being a Christian.”[/quote]
 

 

“Aunty Rebekah! I want to go to school!” “Papi Mateo! Please send me to school!”

When was the last time you heard a child beg to go to school. In America we find it hard to believe a child would want to go to school, let alone beg to go. Yet I know so many children just waiting and praying for an opportunity to go to school but they can’t go. I met a man in Africa that would run for three hours every morning to get to school as a boy. He would leave his home at 4:00 am every day. Can you image having to just walk that long, not even run! With this great of a desire for something worth wanting, it breaks my heart to know so many children that can’t reach their dream of just going to school because of finances. I know I can’t help every child but I do want to share a couple of stories with you of children God has allowed me to send to school.

Meet my sisters and brother,

God has given us the great privilege of adopting Ginary & Heidy & Juan David into our family. Ginary grew up in the orphanages and on the streets of Bogota, Colombia. She came to our family at age 14 and we could not be more blessed than to have her in our family. Ginary is a nail technician and is going to college in Colombia.

Heidy, grew up in the orphanages and on the streets of Bogota, Colombia as well. She came to our family at age 13. Heidy is a joy and delight to everyone who knows her. She is an accomplished artist and has a beautiful singing voice. Heidy is in school in Colombia and wants to work in the ministry with her family someday.

Juan David, grew up in the orphanages and on the streets of Bogota, Colombia as well. He came to our family at age 10. Juan David is the first orphan we met on their first day of our first trip to Colombia. Juan David is going to high school in Bogota Colombia.

Meet Esteban,

My dad and sister met Esteban on a preaching tour in Colombia in April, 2014. He and his brother were abandoned by their father at a young age and their mother was struggling to keep a roof over their head and couldn’t keep him in school. With your help we were able to fully pay his school for 2014 and 2015. Below is the link to a video he sent us recently. If you play it to the end you can see his sweet thank you message.

Meet Anderson,

My dad met Anderson while preaching in Medellin, Colombia. Anderson is a young seminary student preparing for the ministry who was sitting out a semester because of a lack of funds. We were able to pay for his semester so that someday he can stand and preach the word of God to the people of Colombia! Please pray for Anderson as we have not been able to help him again this semester and so he is currently sitting out this semester again.

Meet Pastor Ndagijimana Jean de Dieu’s son,

My dad and I met pastor Jean for the first time in Rwanda, Africa in January. I immediately felt the love of God in His whole family and when he told us He hadn’t been able to send his son to high school because he didn’t have the $200.00 USD, I knew we had to help. Pastor Jean’s son plays all the music for their church and has one of the most sweetest smiles I have ever seen. I am so blessed to have been able to help this amazing family.

Meet Morris,

I never had the chance to meet Morris but I learned about him from Mrs. Liboma, a very good friend of mine in Zambia, Africa. Morris is a next door neighbor of Mrs. Liboma, whose father has abandoned him and his invalid mother. What touched me most about Morris’s story was that Mrs. Liboma cared so much for him because he has the condition of Dwarfism as does Mrs. Liboma’s granddaughter. Through Mrs. Liboma we were able to send Morris to high school. Praise God.

Your continued support for this ministry and the work that God continues to send my father make it possible for these young people to get an education. They are the future of the kingdom’s expansion throughout the world! Please pray for us as every day we meet more young people like these with no expectations, working hard, but just not able to get the education they need and deserve.

Thank you,

Rebekah Bullen

Missionary to the world with Mission Critical International!

To the praise of my Beloved Savior

Photos of Rebekah’s work in Africa

Like many missionaries, Rebekah has no source of income other than love gifts from back home.

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to support Rebekah’s missionary work around the world.

Have you ever had the thought “I know God is calling me to such and such but first I must prepare myself, I am not ready”. I have talked to countless young girls and even adults who have believed this lie and been held back because of it.

I have also had these same thoughts before in my life. Somehow people think that God calls people to clean themselves up and learn all the spiritual fruits before going to do His work with Him. I struggle with this same doubt and speed bump myself. I have always been tempted to put off what God was calling me to until I was “spiritually ready”, basically until I knew the entire Bible backwards, prayed for six hours a day and could spout off spirituality on a whim. Even now that I am here doing what it is God called me to the devil continually tries to use the same old lie that has tripped up many a Christian from walking out onto the water to Jesus.

This morning even as these thoughts were bouncing around in my little head God, in His awesomeness, silenced those voices with just a couple of verses out of His word. I was reading in Mark chapter one this morning when I came across verses 16-20. We all know the story really well, Jesus is walking by the sea of Galilee and calls to Simon (Peter) and Andrew saying “Come follow me and I WILL SHOW YOU HOW to fish for people”. I love the NLT version of the Bible. Jesus did not go to the synagog where all the “wise”, know-it-all, perfectly religious people were and say “Well finally I found somebody who knows their Bible and lives a perfect life, come on and lets teach all these horrible sinners how to do it”. He called the unprepared. God does not call the equipped, He equips the called. Jesus did not shake His head and say “Hey you should be saving souls already why are you wasting your time catching fish? Have you not read the prophecies???” What did He say? “I will show you how to fish for people”. God says come and I will take care of the rest. Just be available, just obey, and He will prepare us for all He has called us to.

I was not ready when I came, but He has been working on me everyday. I will tell you that living in a different country, no matter where, is not easy. You must give up everything, and when I say everything, I mean everything you are used to and is comfortable and normal to you. You must adapt to an entire new way of living and sometimes it really rubs you the wrong way. I have to admit it has not been easy, but every time I get frustrated or want to go back to the United States and my normal comforts, I remember a prayer I prayed a long time ago. “God I want everything you have for me, please prepare me to do whatever You are calling me to”.

The difficulties and frustrations I face now are preparing me for the future. This is why I named these last two posts bootcamp. God did not tell me to learn discipline, patience and humility before I came, He is teaching me all this stuff now, and at the same time I get to experience enormous blessings.

Yesterday I was able to spend the entire morning with a little boy named Estevan who attends the school I am currently working in while writing this haha. He had fallen down playing football (soccer) and scraped up his arm pretty bad which kept him from being able to take swimming classes with the other kids. It always amazes me how God takes bad things and turns them into something good 😀 He is cool like that. Because of that mishap Estevan and I were able to spend the entire morning together just talking and visiting. I don’t remember exactly but after exhausting the subject of best animated movies and guitar lessons somehow we got on the subject of having a relationship with Jesus and how that relationship gives us new joy and desires for our life.

Later that evening Sayira and I went on our regular visits with young women, on this particular visit we were able to encourage and be a listening ear to a girl who lives in a drug infested environment and struggles with addiction herself. I could not stop thinking the whole time of the song “Jesus rides the subway”. After about a two hour visit she could not stop thanking us for just listening to her and not judging. She is desperate for Jesus and is planning to attend the next women’s retreat in August.

Even though at times it is a difficult learning process, God is training me while I work alongside Him in what He is doing here in Colombia. All we have to do is step out of the boat, He takes care of the rest.

A special thanks to all the families who have supported me while I have been here, you are all a huge part of what I am doing here through prayer and support. I can’t say thank you enough. As always Mission Berakah and I are desperate for prayers. That is the greatest gift anyone can give.

Love Brooke

 
[quote]Jesus Rides The Subway by Trevor Morgan

Jesus rides the subway with the junkies and the freaks
Jesus rides the subway with the husslers and the creeps
He rubs shoulders with the thieves
And he looks a lot like everyone he sees
Yeah, Jesus rides the subway
While the pretty people sleep

And He says, “You can lay your burden down,
You can lay your burden down
Oh, maybe you’ve been kicked around,
But you can lay your burden down.”

Jesus strolls the sidewalk
On the wrong side of the tracks
Yeah, Jesus strolls the sidewalk
That poverty attacked
He makes his home among the shadows
Where the fatherless have fallen through the cracks.
Yeah, Jesus strolls the sidewalk
While the righteous turn their backs.

He says, “You can lay your burden down,
You can lay your burden down
Oh, maybe you’ve been kicked around,
But you can lay your burden down.”[/quote]
 

Photos of Brooke’s work in Colombia

Like many missionaries, Brooke has no source of income other than love gifts from home.

If you would like to support Brooke you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

Give online below.

100% of your tax exempt gift will go to Brooke in Colombia.

Sunday, January 27, 2013 was a beautiful Lord’s day. We had breakfast with pastors Lucas and Doraynne and their sweet family and then walked the few blocks to the church Iglesia Libertad. I was so blessed to see my sweet friends, pastors Hector and Liliana and their awesome children and many other friends in the church there.

I met my translator for today and his name is Oscar too. He works for Compassion International and has translated for I AM SECOND and many other ministries and has already become a dear friend.

I couldn’t wait for the worship to start because the pastors 3 teenage children lead it and it is anointed. My new friend Orlando who has a music street ministry also leads. It is so powerful. We praised and praised and prayed and prayed and then the Holy Spirit helped me to bring the message The Triumph of the Gospel from Matthew 13:33. The church was packed and God really got ahold of all of us. It was very blessed. I finished preaching and many, many came to cry out to God with me for a fresh anointing a fresh passion for the coming of His kingdom in the world. After, Pastor Hector hugged me and hugged me. I love these people, I love this country, I love this ministry!

Some of the girls from the safehouse who were with us on Friday were there and one of them, Angelica, got up and gave a tearful and heavenly testimony of how The Lord has been her Papa and her Mama and though she is an orphan she never has felt alone. It was the purest, sweetest, adoring witness to the goodness of her savior that you can imagine. These children are the heartbeat of Jesus and getting near His heart is always life changing for me.

After the service we had a wonderful typical Colombian lunch with the pastor and his family and we spent the afternoon visiting and enjoying the moment.

Ginary was able to spend the evening with us. She turned 18 on New Year’s Eve and was put out of the orphanage and is now living with a friend but they have very little so we took them to the store and bought them a basket full of groceries. They hugged me so hard it hurt. There is so much to do here. I think it is going to take the rest of my life 😉

Our last blessing of a super abundantly blessed trip was getting to have dinner with our dear friends Nelda, and Scott and Anita Gilbert, who are here to adopt a precious girl named Sofia. What a blessing this was for me! I remember praying over Scott with several other men the night he surrendered his life to Christ. I remember how Scott later ministered to my sons. I remember the day I invited their son, Chris Poole to come with me to Colombia, and then Chris came home, sold everything, and became a missionary to the orphans of Colombia and is now going to Project Samuel in Zambia, Africa with Relationships for Christ. And now a sweet Colombian girl is going to have a family. I love you Lord. I love this ministry!

Thank you for your prayers.

Matt Bullen

Saturday, January 26, 2013 was indeed a blessed day. Most of the team had to go home but as Pastor Timothy says, “The Mission Possible trip still continues” and so after dropping them at the airport we caught a bus to La Calera, a beautiful little town in the mountains just outside of Bogota. Brooke said it looked like a town out of the movies. There is a unique orphanage up there that consists of 6 separate houses with 10-15 young people in each and a married couple in each. It has more of a family structure this way and the teens we met there are very happy. One of those precious teens is our own Goddaughter, Heidy. She was waiting at the gate of the house and when she saw us come through the gate she screamed and ran and jumped into my arms with a gran abrazo. The last seven months are the longest I have gone without seeing her in 4 years. She was so happy and looked so good. The mountains and the house and the friends she has made have done very well by her.

Her 17th birthday is in ten days so we took a walk down to the little town square and had a birthday lunch and presented her with our birthday presents we had brought. She was so happy. Then we went to the little store off the plaza and bought some things for all the girls in her house and some necessary items that Heidy needed. It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day. The sun was shining and the air was fresh and we were spending time with our girl. What a blessing. As many of you know we tried desperately for two years to adopt Heidy and our other Goddaughter Ginary but could never get all the legal entanglements worked out. But God has watched over them and taken good care of them and I know someday we will be together. I told Heidy that when I am old I am moving to La Calera and I’m going to sit in a rocker on the porch and drink my Colombian coffee and eat papaya and she is going to have to take care of me. She laughed and hugged me and said, “I will Papi.” She told me all about the Christian Bible study that she attends on Wednesday nights and the church she attends on Saturdays. I’ve never seen her so happy and so healthy. Praise God.

Then it was time to go and we hugged and kissed goodbye and we headed down the mountain in the little bus to visit with our pastor friends and spend the night. On the way we stopped and bought a bunch of groceries to surprise them with because planting a new church this year in a rough part of Bogota has been hard on them but God is bringing souls into the kingdom down there.

We had a wonderful dinner with Pastors Lucas and Doraynne and laughed and talked about the kingdom and all that God is doing and then turned in. Thank you to Relationships for Christ and their Mission Possible program and Mission Critical International for this blessed week. Praying for God’s power on my sermon tomorrow at Iglesia Libertad and our precious pastor friends Hector and Liliana and their family and our last day in Colombia for this trip.

Thank you for your prayers.

Matt Bullen

Friday January 25, 2013 was another wonderful and heart wrenching day. We started the morning visiting a Christian home for pregnant and nursing mom age 11-18. All the girls (maybe 30) gathered in a meeting room with us and we made introductions and shared about our lives. I asked the girls to tell us about their dreams. Several spoke and without fail they said their dream was to give their baby the life they never had. Some of them said be a good example for their baby and others talked about finishing their education and having a career. The whole team shared about Jesus and Timothy encouraged them greatly that they can reach any dream with God as their Father. David shared how he had had a child at 16 and how hard it was and that Jesus is the only way to true happiness. Then Oscar gave each girl a salvation bracelet kit and as they made the bracelets he explained the gospel to them. Right as he started a little 5 year old girl named Carmella came over to me and she talked my ear off very quietly so as not to distract from Oscar. She was very cute and sweet. She wanted to check me all out. She touched my beard and pulled my mustache and hair and touched my glasses and zipped up my jacket and buttoned the collar snap. She hugged me and asked if I was Papa Noel (Santa Clause) all the time chattering away. Then she took my hands and put them together as if to pray and folded her tiny hands around mine and said, “pray?” And so she prayed and I prayed. Then we worked on her necklace and she said, “one for my mother?” So we made one for her mother. I could have sat there for hours talking to that sweet little child. I love this ministry. She and her mom are why Mission Critical exists. I know there are many out there just like her digging through trash to survive, washing headlights at the traffic light for money because they are too little to reach the windshield. God help us to help them.

The rest of the day we were blessed to see some sights downtown and have lunch with some precious orphan girls that David and Michelle have a relationship with from previous trips. It was wonderful. Then we went up to Monserrate mountain to see the sunset over the city and pray and sing “God of this city” as we always do. Paul and his friend Sal were able to join us as we’ll as our sweet driver for the week, Daisy. Pastor Timothy had the great idea of having communion on the mountain as well and had brought the elements. It was very special. We finished the night with a great meal and fellowship. Another amazing day pushing out the borders of His kingdom.

Thank you for your prayers.

Matt Bullen

Thursday, January 24, 2013, was another beautiful day. We started out with breakfast at our regular little authentic Colombian restaurant and just as I walked in the door sweet Ginary jumped out and hugged me. I was so surprised and happy to see her again this week. She also had with her Erica another girl that we have known and ministered to for years. It was so great to have breakfast with them both and the team.

We left them and went up into the mountainside to a beautiful Christian orphanage. We were all huffing and puffing as we toured the facility literally built into the side of the mountain. They have 100 children of which 30 are adoptable. We had a wonderful time getting to know them and we are excited about working with them in the future for the adoption arm of our ministry.

After a leisurely lunch (all I ate was a giant bowl of papaya, my new favorite fruit thanks to Mercy) we went back to Nuevo Planeta and spent the afternoon playing with those sweet little kids. We also brought each of the 11 boys who had professed faith in Christ the day before a new Bible. We gave them many of the gifts that all of you had collected for the trip and wished them blessings.

We then headed out to go to a meeting set up by Esperanza with some pastors at Mision Colombia, a large evangelical church in the city. We had a wonderful visit and they are excited about helping us on future trips. They have literally hundreds of contacts in the city and can help us with everything from lodging and transportation to opportunities for street evangelism, orphan ministry and even tribal outreach. God has opened so many doors for us this week it is incredible. Like the Chris Tomlin song says, “Greater things are still to be done in this city.” I love this ministry.

Thank you for your prayers.

Matt Bullen

Today, Wednesday, January 23, 2013, started early but awesome as we were blessed to meet with Pastor Manuel for breakfast at 7:00 am at the Colombian National Bible Society. Pastor Manuel is pastor to Esperanza from Colombia Chiquita and also the president of the society. After a wonderful breakfast we heard about the great work of the society. It was founded in 1825 and they print and distribute Bibles all over South America. Last year alone they distributed 700,000 Bibles. They give free Bibles to the FARC and other guerrillas and they have seen many come to Christ and leave the fighting.

The exciting thing for us is that in my 15 trips to Colombia we have bought Spanish Bibles and paid the $70.00 extra bag charge for sometimes 20 extra bags in order to get Bibles to the orphans that we minister to. Pastor Manuel says that he can supply us with cases of Bibles at $3.00 each printed right here in Bogota! Praise God! They also have a Bible curriculum written for children with beautiful artwork. Pastor Timothy had the great idea of getting the society to put together a package deal for each orphanage of this curriculum and Pastor Manuel said they would also train the workers at the orphanage to use the curriculum. Please pray that someone with a passion for biblical education to step forward and finance this. Also the Bible society is in need of translators and donations to continue their work of getting God’s word into the hands of His people in Colombia.

We thanked them for the wonderful breakfast and headed to Nuevo Planeta. I have to admit that I was apprehensive about this next foundation because I knew that it housed 150 children that have each been raped and/or been exploited in the sex trade and this is why they are in this particular foundation. Also, they send buses out to the worst parts of the city and pick up 100 children who are living on the street and whose parents are addicts, prostitutes, or simply homeless and bring them in for a hot meal and a shower. I prayed with a little more intensity than usual as we headed there asking the Lord to superintend our visit there and override our fear and apprehension and allow the children to see Him in us and feel His love through us. We arrived and met the young woman in her mid thirties who founded this ministry 12 years ago with 12 children. Those who work for her know her as the “angel”.

She explained about the children and their history and how they have purchased land and are now raising the funds to build a new facility that they hope will house 500 children when it is completed because the need is so great. Our first order of business was touring their existing rented facility which consists of 3 houses connected together and busting at the seams. First we went up stairs and into a nursery like room with 25 of the cutest little 2-4 year olds you can imagine. As soon as we walked in the door they crowded around us hugging our legs and smiling and putting up their hands to be picked up. I picked up the little boy closest to me and he gave me a big hug and smile. Brooke sat down on the floor and 4 little ones piled into her lap hungry for love. I looked over and saw big crocodile tears running down her cheeks. We only stayed a moment and then had to move on for our tour and all of us were near tears as we walked on to view the rest of the facility and meet the other ages. After our tour we took a group to the park and played and played. It was so fun.

We had lunch together in the foundation and then took a class of 8-10 year olds taught by one of the orphans we used to minister to in another orphanage years ago that now works at this foundation to the park. Our dear friend Jair Montiel of the Christian band Viraje and Christ for the City came over for the day and as we sat down on the grass with the boys he took out his guitar and we sang several worship songs. I had told Jair that if we got the chance I wanted Pastor Timothy to share his testimony because I knew that these boys could really relate with Timothy’s painful childhood and so as we finished singing Jair called Timothy up and he spent the next several minutes sharing his story and how at age 13 after hearing the gospel at his grandmother’s church he knelt by his bed alone and felt Jesus telling him that He would be the dad he never had and he was saved and his life was changed. Every little boy sat there spellbound listening intently and when Timothy asked if they would like to believe on Jesus and ask Him to be there Papa and share his love with them nearly every hand went up and how sweetly they prayed asking Jesus to be their savior and their dad and to hold their future in His hands. When we finished praying a shout went up from the boys and they clapped. Praise the Lord! He is faithful and will continue the work in their hearts that was started today.

Then it was time to play. The big ones played soccer while the same little ones we had met that morning wore us out with piggyback rides and tag and swinging and jumping on us from the monkey bars. We had a blast. When we got tired we sat in the grass and they climbed all over us. Michelle had a sack of candy and she nearly got trampled as they all clamored to get a sucker or a sixlet. They were so cute. She also made little cross necklaces for each one with different colored ribbon. The crosses had engraved on them Dios Te Ama (God loves you). Each of us decided we could take 3 or 4 of them home if they would let us. One little girl 2 ½ or 3 named Sophia decided that I was her best buddy and hung on me all afternoon. All of my apprehension was for naught because those 150 children turned out to be just sweet little children starved for love and attention. Something all of us were thrilled to provide.

Another friend named Paul came and spent the last hour with us. Paul found our ministry through the internet a couple years ago and we have become dear friends. He and his wife just adopted a little boy two months ago. Praise God. We left exhausted but very happy, ready to go get some rest and come back again tomorrow and spend time with them again. All day I had daydreams about Jesus taking the little children into his lap and blessing them and reminding His disciples that the kingdom of God is for such as these. I love this ministry.

Thank you for your prayers and I want to thank Relationships for Christ and Pastor Timothy again for making this trip Mission Possible and thank you Oscar Perez for all of your hard work. Usted eres una gran bendicion a mi vida.

Matt Bullen

Again today, Tuesday January 22, 2013, God blessed us with a wonderful day. We spent the day with Maranatha International Foundation. They have a very interesting ministry. They focus on three different projects. The first is a Habitat for Humanity type ministry where they build houses for the poor in Bogota. Their goal is to build 100 houses. The second project is evangelistic events where they bring in evangelistic speakers like Nick Viujicic and hold giant evangelistic meetings. They have had approximately 95,000 conversions recorded in the last 6 years. The third project is Hogar De Paz (Home of Peace) where they take in children from the street each day and feed them, educate them, and win them to Christ and disciple them. This is the project that we came to see today. We were immediately impressed with the appearance and spirit of the place when we walked in. It really is a home of peace.

We had breakfast with them and then we spent the morning learning all about their foundation and about the children they serve. It was very refreshing to see a ministry serving vulnerable children whose main focus is the gospel and discipleship. They do many of the same social programs to help the children as others but their main focus is the heart because they know that true transformation of a child’s life is a supernatural happening brought about by the Holy Spirit. And all of the other needs in their life are secondary to breaking the cycle of sin, hopelessness, and abuse prevalent in their families because the life that Jesus gives is absent.
In the afternoon the children arrived and we played at the park for awhile and then came in to play board games and puzzles. It was so much fun playing with these sweet and happy children who once were withdrawn and angry and had witnessed horrible atrocities on the street and in war but now through the work of Hogar De Paz and the glorious gospel they are new little people. I had the most fun playing a memory game with a bunch of kids where we had these giant cards with pictures of all different faces of dinosaurs on them. We had the whole table covered in these cards face up and then we would give each child two seconds to look at the cards and then we turned them all over and they had to guess from memory where the duplicate cards were located. I was stunned at how smart these little 5 and 6 year olds were as they would just walk up and pick out the pair over and over again. It was so wild because they would scream and dance and jump around when they got it right. It was too cute.

An hour before it was time to go we gathered up for devotion. Some of the parents of the children who are now working during the day while the children are at school and then Hogar De Paz began to drift in while we were singing worship songs and then the children sang several songs and then it was time for the devotion. Each of the team members got up and gave their testimony and it was amazing how some of the team members childhood testimonies resembled what these children have seen and how good it was for them to hear the difference that Christ has made in each of our lives. David Attaway gave the entire gospel message from Romans and all of those parents were sitting there listening intently.

God is doing a great work through Maranatha and we were very blessed to spend the day with them. God has given us a very blessed, calm, and intimate trip and we are grateful and blessed. One of the team members this morning, Jay from Chicago, said that he originally was supposed to go on a mission trip to Nicaragua but it didn’t work out and so he sort of felt at the time like he was settling for the Colombia trip but WOW has God blown his mind and he knows that this is where he was supposed to be. Praise God. Thank you for your prayers.

Matt Bullen

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Missions Ambition

 
Romans 15:20 I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,

Often times we think of raw, unchecked ambition in a negative connotation but Paul was not shy in stating that he had a holy ambition… a missions ambition… and we should have it too.

If God has saved us and made us His own, be assured, it was not just so we could sit back and relax. He saved us and has called every single one of us to join Him in His mission to save the rest of the world. Missions isn’t just the job of a few hyperactive Christians in the church. Missions is each of our calling.

I love how Matthew Barnett says it,

[quote]
“When you were born, God instilled many things within you. One of them was a great CAUSE that He wants you to embrace. In His unique grandeur, He created a universe in which the cumulative effect of all people faithfully pursuing the cause within them would result in a transformed world – one in which everyone’s needs would be met and every servant’s heart would be filled with the joy of blessing others. Unfortunately, we live in a traumatized world – in part because so many people fail to identify and pursue the cause He has given them. Even though it would provide the happiness and fulfillment they have been seeking, they have failed to build their lives around that cause.” – Matthew Barnett
[/quote]

God has more for us to do and to be a part of than we have dared to dream. We need to get a holy ambition to impact the world.

[quote]
“If your vision doesn’t scare you, then both your vision and your God are too small.” – Brother Andrew
[/quote]

So why does the great majority of church going, faith professing, Christians live lives that don’t reflect this kind of raging ambition? Somehow we have been lulled into the thought that impacting the world for Christ is a calling reserved for a radical few. We have traded God’s plan for the Christian life for one of our own making.
[quote]
“We tend to drift away from God’s bold vision, replacing it with a safer, tamer vision of our own.” – Richard Stearns
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Many of us at some point in our lives get an inkling that something isn’t right. We read the book of Acts and wonder… “Why doesn’t God work the same way today?” For a moment we wonder if we aren’t supposed to be doing more for God and experiencing more of His power and seeing more transformation in the world. We wonder if we shouldn’t break from the norms of our culture and give ourselves to the work of God completely. Then fear strikes. “We can’t just give up everything. I mean we can’t all be gospel agents can we? Somebody has to be average American Christians.” We look around and notice that no one else seems disturbed with the disparity between the Bible and our lives and so we shrug, assuming that we have just experienced a brief lapse in reality. After all, “we must submit to the demands of our society. How can we provide for ourselves and our family if we don’t stay in the rat race? Radical ministry must be for someone with less responsibilities and encumbrances than me. Some of us are made for big dreams but not me.” I’m tempted to believe it but then I read quotes like…
[quote]
“We need to dream big dreams because it keeps us on our knees in raw dependence. Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. “ – Mark Batterson
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or like…
[quote]
“God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the impossible.” -William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army
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And I know that I can’t quit. It’s why I love to keep quotes like these around me. Because the enemy is always trying to lull me back to sleep but the future generations of the Bullen family can’t afford for me to get distracted. The hundreds of orphans our ministry serves can’t afford for me to get distracted. The young ministers and missionaries whom I have the joy of mentoring and encouraging can’t afford for me to get distracted. The seasoned saints who have invested in me over the decades can’t afford for me to get distracted and squander their spiritual investment. The lives that I will touch with my simple obedience can’t afford for me to get distracted. My own soul and my joy and my happiness can’t afford for me to get distracted. I am addicted to the mission of God and I can’t live without it. My mind and soul having been stretched to know this amazing life can never retract back to their original smallness. I must press on. I have a mission ambition to push out the boundaries of His kingdom until all know Him and worship Him. I’ve read and believed quotes like the ones below and they have stretched my heart beyond the point of no return. I’m hopelessly consumed with an ambition… a mission ambition…
[quote]
“One of the reasons that we are often not as happy as we should be and could be is that our vision of what our life is about is too small. We try to find happiness in our work, our family, and our friends. He wants the whole world to be embraced by His saving glory in Jesus Christ and He wants you and me to be involved in this. Our hearts can expand with joy in God as we watch Him triumph in the world. One of the reasons that missions is so advancing to our happiness is because you are engaged in something that not only is God very excited about but that cannot fail… we are linking our lives to something global, something absolutely indomitable, and something absolutely eternal and when you are linked to big things, strong things, sure things like that your joy is deeper, stronger, and bigger.” – John Piper
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[quote]”‘Not called!’ did you say?
‘Not heard the call,’ I think you should say.”
— William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army
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[quote]
“I pray that the Lord might give you a dare-devil spirit, consuming you with a passion that is called by the cultured citizen of Christendom ‘fanaticism’, but known to God as that saint-ly madness that led His Son through bloody sweat and hot tears to agony on a rude Cross—and Glory!” – Jim Elliot
[/quote]

So, will you take up the challenge? What Holy Ambition is God stirring in your heart even now?

In my last blog I was meditating on the image of Christ as my bridegroom. “My lover is mine, and I am His” Song of Solomon 2:16.

Another of my beloved images of Jesus is that He is my Father. Romans 8:15, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.”

For me to understand what it means to have a father –daughter relationship with my sweet Jesus, I look at my own relationship with my earthly father. I have a beautiful relationship with my earthly father, full of love and trust. I know I can come to him if I have a problem or need advice.  I love laying my head on his chest and crying to my heart’s content when life has not gone my way. One of my greatest desires is for my dad to be proud of me.

Now I know for many of you reading this, you don’t have a great or even good relationship with your earthly father. In fact you have a bad relationship with him or you don’t know whom your dad is. You might say to me, “yeah, it is easy for you to see Jesus as your Father, but what about me?” Well think about who you wanted your father to be. Every one of us has an image, a dream of what you need in a father.

When I started to see and expect from Jesus what I need in my father I found He is so much more than I could ever imagine. I can trust in Him completely, I can come to Him with my deepest and darkest fears with out Him being disappointed in me. I never have to worry about my Heavenly Father being too busy to have time for my problems or cares.

My favorite time with my earthly father is when we are sitting on the couch and I am able to lay my head on His chest. During my prayer and worship times in order to cultivate my Father/Daughter relationship with my heavenly Father, I have started picturing myself sitting by Jesus in heaven, sometimes just sitting enjoying His presence and sometimes pouring my heart out to Him. When my heart is broken I sit on His lap and bury my face in His chest and give Him all my pain. When I need forgiveness I sit at His feet and beg for Him to forgive me. When I am thankful I see myself running around His throne, praising His name.

Last night at church, during our worship service, as I was lifting my hands in worship, an image came to me that portrays this so beautifully. I have always enjoyed lifting my hands in worship but never quite understood why I enjoyed it. Yesterday I spent all day with my nine-month-old nephew who is the happiest when He is being held. If I lay him on the floor and sit on the couch, he will crawl over to the couch and work his way up to a standing position and lift his hands to me, so I will pick him up. As I was standing in the service with my hands lifted, I could see myself just like that, wanting nothing more than to be picked up by my Daddy. Is that not what worship is all about? To sit on our heavenly Father’s lap and be happy just to be with Him.

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Many if not every great move of God in the world began in a prayer meeting. From the pages of church history come some amazing stories of prayer meetings that God used to change the world beginning with the 120 in the upper room that culminated in Pentecost. The people that knelt down to pray couldn’t have known what God intended to do through their simple obedience to seek Him in prayer. They simply couldn’t have known what was about to happen as they began to pray. I mention some of these prayer meetings below to illustrate.

-Moravian Prayer Meeting

Count Zinzendorf called the 300 Moravians living on his property together on the night of August 12, 1727, and they conducted an all night prayer meeting. The next day is referred to in history as “The Moravian Pentecost” (August 13, 1727) The Holy Spirit visited them in a supernatural blessing of love, unity, and power. They decided to form a 24/7/365 prayer meeting… They signed up for prayer slots around the clock, 3 praying together at a time every minute of every day… the prayer meeting lasted 110 years.

Six weeks into the prayer meeting Zinzendorf stood up and challenged their little band to go to the nations. The next day 26 of their group stepped forward and gave their lives to go to the mission field. Some of them were too poor to go so they sold themselves into slavery to get a free ship ride and to be missionaries to the slave trade.

In the first 28 years over 200 missionaries were sent out of a their little community of 600 people.

They excited a missions passion everywhere they went and inspired thousands to follow their example and go to the nations. They dramatically impacted such notables as John and Charles Wesley, William Carey, and many more. They couldn’t have known… but God…

-The Holy Club

John and Charles Wesley and later George Whitefield formed a prayer meeting when they were students at Oxford that became known on campus as the Holy Club. Later John was changed forever by his contact with the Moravians. Out of that Holy Club prayer group the Wesley’s ushered in the great awakening in England while George Whitefield along with Jonathan Edwards ushered in the great awakening in America. They couldn’t have known… but God…

-Concert of Prayer

John Erskine, a Scottish pastor in 1742 suggested a concert of prayer for Christ’s kingdom to advance to all the nations of the earth. In 1744 the Scottish leaders organized two years of concerted prayer at designated times for international revival. Word of this prayer concert reached Jonathan Edwards in America and he published a little booklet encouraging the colonies to join together in these prayer concerts. The great awakening and the American Revolution were the result. They couldn’t have known… but God…

-Union of Prayer

Following the above examples a movement of prayer began in Britain through William Carey, Andrew Fuller and John Sutcliffe—and other leaders who began what the British called “the Union of Prayer.” it was resolved to set apart an hour on the first Monday evening of every month, “for extraordinary prayer for revival of religion, and for the extending of Christ’s kingdom in the world.” Out of that prayer meeting came the Baptist Missionary Society and the beginning of modern missions.

At about the same time in America, Isaac Backus and Stephen Gano, along with twenty-three other New England ministers, distributed a circular letter in 1794, which called for a concert of prayer of believers to pray for a general awakening. Having been directly influenced by the First Great Awakening, they invoked the memory and authority of Jonathan Edwards, and agreed that, beginning in January 1795, two o’clock on the first Tuesday of the four quarters of the year would be set aside for a concert of prayer in support of the new awakening. This prayer concert would launch the Second Great Awakening… Out of the second great awakening came the modern missionary movement, the abolition of slavery, popular education, Bible societies and Sunday schools. They couldn’t have known… but God…

-The Haystack Prayer Meeting

Five Williams College students met in the summer of 1806, in a grove of trees near the Hoosack River, then known as Sloan’s Meadow, and debated the theology of missionary service. Their meeting was suddenly interrupted by a thunderstorm and the students: Samuel J. Mills, James Richards, Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green took shelter under a haystack until the sky cleared.

It was the first documented resolution ever made by Americans to begin foreign missionary work. In its first fifty years, the group that resulted sent out over 1250 missionaries. Today it has sent out nearly 5000 missionaries to 34 different fields, and it all began with five young men praying in a haystack. They couldn’t have known… but God…

-1859 Prayer Meeting

“In September 1857, a man of prayer, Jeremiah Lanphier, started a prayer meeting in the upper room of the Dutch Reformed Church Consistory building, in Manhattan. In response to his advertisement, only six people out of the population of a million showed up. But, the following week, there were fourteen, and then twenty-three, when it was decided to meet every day for prayer. By late winter, they were filling the Dutch Reformed Church, then the Methodist Church of John Street, then Trinity Episcopal Church on Broadway at Wall Street. In February and March of 1858, every church and public hall in downtown New York was filled.

“Horace Greeley, the famous editor, sent a reporter with horse and buggy racing around the prayer meetings to see how many men were praying: in one hour, he could get to only twelve meetings, but he counted 6100 men attending. Then a landslide of prayer began, which overflowed to the churches in the evenings. People began to be converted, ten thousand a week in New York City alone.

In America more than a million people were converted to God in one year out of a population of thirty million. Then that same revival jumped the Atlantic, appeared in Ulster, Scotland and Wales, then England, parts of Europe, South Africa and South India, anywhere there was an evangelical cause. It sent mission pioneers to many countries. Effects were felt for forty years. Having begun in a movement of prayer, it was sustained by a movement of prayer. They couldn’t have known… but God…

As Mission Critical International seeks to impact the world as God has clearly and miraculously called us, we must begin with prayer.

Here at Mission Critical we set aside every Thursday of the week for our 24-hour prayer day. Eventually we believe that God will give us enough prayer warriors to have a 24/7 prayer concert for the nations.

To facilitate this we have established a prayer team page at… 24/7 Prayer

Simply click on Thursday Prayer Concert to go to the calendar and then click on the Mission Critical box on the day you wish to sign up and time slots will open for you to sign up in 15-minute increments. Initially we will start with as many slots as we can fill up and expect more as more warriors come on board.

We will cap our Thursday prayer concerts with a call in prayer meeting every Thursday night at 7:00 pm for those who can.

Conference call number is (605) 475-4000 and Participant Access Code: 507167#

Join us in asking God to make His kingdom come among the nations…

I recently wrote about how the disciples couldn’t have know all that they would see and experience by obeying the simple command of Jesus to “Follow Me.” In a subsequent post I wrote about how Hudson and Maria Taylor couldn’t have known what God would do when they obeyed the simple command of Jesus to “Go.” And I would like to share another of my favorite stories about a man named Edward Kimball and what he couldn’t have known when he obeyed the simple command of Jesus to be a “fisher of men.”

Edward Kimball was a Sunday school teacher in Chicago, Illinois. He went one day to the shoe store where one of his pupils worked because he felt impelled by the Holy Spirit to share Christ with this young man. He almost backed out because of fear but went ahead and that young man came to faith in Jesus as a result. That young shoe salesman’s name was D.L. Moody.

Shortly after Moody’s conversion he heard a man named Henry Varney say, “The world has yet to see what God will do with one man who is wholly consecrated to Him.” Moody left that meeting saying, “I will be that man.” Moody went on to be a world famous evangelist of whom it was said that he gathered two continents in his hands (North America and Europe) and brought them both closer to God. He preached to an estimated 100 million people, established colleges and schools, and left his imprint on 19th-century Evangelicalism. His was a remarkable life. Untold numbers came to Christ through Moody’s ministry. There is no way that Edward Kimball could have known that day at the shoe store what God was going to do through him and his simple obedience by faith. There is no way Henry Varney could have known what his anointed words would do.

But there is more… much more… for you see at one of Moody’s meetings one day he spoke to a young man about his assurance of salvation and greatly encouraged that young man whose name was J. Wilbur Chapman. D.L. Moody couldn’t have known that day that Chapman would go on to become a great evangelist in his own right and lead thousands to Christ or that Chapman would mentor an ex-drunkard professional baseball player named Billy Sunday who would go on to become a great evangelist and lead hundreds of thousands to Christ.

Billy Sunday inspired a group of Charlotte, NC businessmen to hold a revival in 1932 and invite evangelist Mordecai Hamm. A lanky 16 year old would be saved in that revival. His name is Billy Graham. Edward Kimball couldn’t have known. D.L. Moody couldn’t have known. J. Wilbur Chapman couldn’t have known. Billy Sunday couldn’t have known. The Charlotte Christian Businessman’s Association couldn’t have known. Mordecai Hamm couldn’t have known. Good thing they trusted God and obeyed their calling.

But there is more… much more… for you see at another of Moody’s meetings one day he cried out to the crowd, “Faith Can Do Anything!” A young man present believed him and went on to become a great evangelist and D.L. Moody’s closest friend and associate. That young man was R.A. Torrey. Torrey preached to millions, brought tens of thousands to Christ, founded schools and churches and wrote over 40 books. Kimball and Moody couldn’t have known. One day a young man heard Torrey preach and gave his life to Christ.

His name was Oswald J. Smith. Oswald went on to build one of the greatest churches in the world in Toronto, Canada, The People’s Church. In later life he became a missions mobilizer and statesman and preached all over the world bringing thousands to Christ. Kimball, Moody, and Torrey couldn’t have known what their simple obedience would do and how God would use them. There are many many other stories that trace back to Edward Kimball’s winning Moody and the people that he subsequently influenced like F.B. Meyer and many others but the story of Moody and especially the link to Henry Varney and Oswald J. Smith bless me personally in three ways.

First, the night I was saved, July 21, 1982, the twenty-two year old evangelist, Jerry Johnston, (who would go on to win tens of thousands to Christ) told the story of D.L. Moody and the quote from Varney, “The world has yet to see what God will do with one man who is wholly consecrated to Him.” And then Jerry looked right at me in the crowd (or so it seemed) and said, “Will you be that man?” When the invitation was given I beat it to the altar, or as close as I could get for there were dozens of other teens already there before me, and I knelt down in the aisle and said, “God if you want me, I want you.” I left that night on fire for God and have been pursuing him for just over 30 years now.

Second, Two years later in September of 1984 I was at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO. My 18 year old soul was hungry for God. I had a little money that someone had sent from home and so I went to the college bookstore looking for some soul sustenance. I asked the Holy Spirit to show me what I needed and I stumbled on a book called “The Passion For Souls” by Oswald J. Smith. I had never heard of him but the title set my heart to burning so I bought it and went back to my dorm and read it through stinging tears in one sitting. It was a life altering read. It put a hunger in my soul for the power of God in my life and ministry that has never waned. The next year I became a youth evangelist and God blessed me to see hundreds of teens come to Christ many of whom are in ministry around the country today and then family discipleship and pastoring and now missions and the impact of his book is still working in my life. I haven’t shaken continents for God… at least not yet :-). Oswald J. Smith couldn’t have known how he would impact this one life. I’m holding that same book I bought so long ago in my hands right now and it is tattered and worn. I have read it so many times and used so many colors of highlighter on it that some pages look like a rainbow. I flipped through it just now and read a few lines and my heart began to burn and tears filled my eyes. My daughter Brooke came in from work just now and said, “Dad! What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” I held up the book. She smiled gave me a hug and went on.

Third, at the height of Oswald J. Smith’s People’s Church in Toronto, Canada a young man named Dan Schiel was a follower of Smith’s who came to Conroe, Texas and started a church in Conroe, Texas called The People’s Church. He began to preach and souls were saved and the church grew and today, decades later, it is known as Christ Church of Conroe and Dan Schiel still pastors there. The personal connection for me is that Dan Schiel has a granddaughter named Misti who grew up in his church and learned to love Jesus and serve Him with all her heart. Misti is married to my oldest son Luke and they work with us at Mission Critical International. She is a wonderful wife to my son and a wonderful mother to my two sweet grandbabies, Joy and Joseph. It may be a stretch to say that Edward Kimball’s obedience to share Christ with D.L. Moody in that shoe store that day has a direct connection to my life, family, and ministry today… but I’m not so sure. All I know is that they couldn’t have known what God would do with them and for them and neither can we. So we must keep pressing on in His kingdom work and only eternity will tell all of the stories of how God used our mustard seeds of faith and obedience to change the world.

Matt Bullen

I was so blessed to speak at Spring Baptist Church today about missions. Thanks to David Attaway for making it happen. Here is the audio…

As I wrote in my preceding blog, I love to think about how simple obedience to the call of God on our lives can bring about gigantic kingdom results that we never could have foreseen when we stepped out on faith. Jesus loved to tell us about these through parables. He talks about the tiny mustard seed that grows into a tree that the birds of the air can lodge in. He speaks of the tiny yeast that a woman puts into a lump of dough and it eventually permeates the entire lump and so on.

Of course there are hundreds and probably thousands of such kingdom stories that have played out in the ensuing two thousand years of church history since Jesus’s illustrations but one of the most stunning examples from history that I often think about and am encouraged by is the life of J. Hudson Taylor, legendary missionary to China. I recently read the old book, Hudson Taylor, the man who believed God by Marshal Broomhall, a descendent of Taylor. I thrilled at the story of the very humble beginnings of the ministry of Hudson Taylor, The China Inland Mission and the incredible kingdom advance that resulted.

Taylor was the son of a third generation methodist preacher who dreamed of going to China but never made it. He passed on his passion and vision to his son, Hudson but neither of them could have known what God was going to do. In 1853 Hudson sailed for China. He was 21 years old. He had to return to England in 1861 due to poor health. He sought the Lord mightily and made plans to return to China in 1866 with his family and 16 other missionaries they had recruited. But he was wracked with doubt and in 1865 he wrote in his diary, “For two or three months, intense conflict … Thought I should lose my mind.” A little while later while walking on the beach at Brighton his gloom lifted and he wrote, “There the Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God for this service. I told him that all responsibility as to the issues and consequences must rest with him; that as his servant it was mine to obey and to follow him.”

That day marked the founding of the China Inland Mission and when his little party landed in China there were only about 400 known Christians in the entire country. After much hardship, struggle, loss, and an amazing amount of prayer, faith, and work, J. Hudson Taylor died in 1905 and it was estimated that at the time of his death there were approximately 18,000 Christians in China.

The number of other missionaries who were inspired by him only heaven knows but some notable names are Amy Carmichael, Henry Martyn, Gladys Alyward, William Borden, and many others. And like Hudson Taylor, they couldn’t have known what God would do with their mustard seed of faith. Their stories are the stuff of legend as well. But even at his death, there is no way that Hudson Taylor could have known what God would continue to do through his obedience. 45 years after his death when the communists expelled his China Inland Mission from China it is estimated that there were 1 million Christians in China. But even that couldn’t stop the mustard seed from growing.

Today, missiologists estimate that there are 100 million Christians in China and that 10,000 per day are coming to Christ! There is no way that James and Amelia Taylor could have known when they prayed over their infant son Hudson for God to send him to China what God would do with that prayer. There is no way that Hudson and Maria Taylor could have known when they set sail in 1866 for China what God would do. And friends there is no way that you and I can know what God, even now, is planning and doing with our little mustard seed of faith that we have planted and that we are watering and praying and working on to advance His kingdom. There is no way. So keep looking up and moving forward.

Read More

I have been meditating on the Revelation 19:7, Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. In many places in the Bible we as the Church are called the Bride of Christ. That means every one of us who believe in Christ and are part of His church is His bride. Now when I look brides on their wedding day I can see their love for their bridegrooms just radiating off of them. I want that kind of love for my Bridegroom! A vibrant and passionate love. A kind of love that when I not in His presents my heart burns for the next time I can spend with Him. The cry of my heart is, Psalm 27:8, “My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.” I want to have an intimate enough relationship with my Love to say, Psalm 42:1, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God.” So times when I am worshiping at church I get such a longing for my Love I say in my heart “please Beloved just let me come up to you, I can wait any longer for You.” I know He has so much for me to do on this earth that I can go yet but my heart can wait for the day I finally see my Love face to face. I can truly say with David Psalm 16:11, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” I will stay with my Love for only in Him do I find true joy. My goal is to every day fall harder and more passionately in love with my Savior and Bridegroom.

I have been home a week and a half from the Dream Center in Los Angeles where I interned for a year and I can still see the faces of my friends and the neighborhood children in Watts that I grew to love as my own. It was very hard to say goodbye but I knew that God has clearly called me to come back to Houston and work with my family at Mission Critical International. I have known since I was six years old that I was called to be a missionary to the nations. It has always been my desire to minister in South America and Africa.

Amazingly God has given the opportunity over the last three years to work in Colombia and next spring I will be serving in Zambia, Africa as well. As hard as it was to leave the relationships of the last year in Los Angeles, I know that God has many crazy things for me to do this next year and I can’t wait to see what He does. I feel like my story has just begun.

My last Adopt-A-Block meeting in Watts as we were praying out one of my little children I was serving there asked if he could pray. As he was praying he thanked God for his friendship with me and thanked God that I was able to bring him to church every Thursday and Sunday and because of that prayer I realized what an incredible influence God had allowed me to have in the lives of these kids over the last year and I only hope that I will be able to expand my influence with the children of Colombia and Zambia this year.

It is obvious that God has placed in my heart a deep and unstoppable love for the overlooked, vulnerable, and abandoned children of the world. I intend to spend the rest of my life pursuing every opportunity to bring hope and God’s love to as many children as I possibly can. Pray for me as I begin fundraising for Zambia and as I jump into the work with my dad here at Mission Critical. God is good!!!

Love Rebekah

Do you ever think about how amazing it was that in Luke 5 after Jesus bids Peter and the others to let down their nets and they pull in what was probably the greatest catch of their careers “they left everything and followed Him.” (Luke 5:11) when Jesus said, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” (Luke 5:10)? I’ve been thinking a lot about this over the last few years.

The passage always amazes me because at first blush it seems like they gave up a lot and they took a great risk leaving their livelihood to follow this Rabbi who “had nowhere to lay His head” and maybe that is part of why Jesus said, “Do not fear” but in retrospect they were trading very little for the most incredible adventure in the history of the world. When Jesus said, “follow Me” there is no way they could have known the incredible adventure that awaited them. In that split second where they made the decision to follow Him there is no way they could have known what that meant. As they were walking away from their father, their boats, their nets, and their wealth there is no way they could have known that they were going to see the blind, lame, diseased, and dead healed before their very eyes! They couldn’t have known that they were going to be on the mount of transfiguration and see Jesus in His glory speaking with Moses and Elijah! They couldn’t have know that they would see God clothed in flesh die to ransom humanity and then see Him raised from the dead and ascend to heaven. Peter couldn’t have known that when he left his nets he would preach and see three thousand saved and baptized in one day! In those simple words “follow Me” were concealed huge miracles, intense suffering, wonderful marvels, deep pain, unspeakable joys, not to mention the presence of Jesus, the most lovable and admirable being in the universe.

The astounding truth however is that each of us have been called by the same Rabbi to “follow Me” and the same adventure is waiting for us if we will leave our shore of Galilee and follow Him and it excites me daily to think that there is no way we can know the incredible things He has in store for us if we will say yes! We may have to leave familiar surroundings, careers, family, and more and there is no guarantee that we will ever return (all the fishermen who followed Jesus from the shore that day were killed in foreign lands for the gospel) but I know that if those fishermen had it to do over again they wouldn’t trade their adventure with God, their Mission Critical, for a quiet life on the shores of Galilee and neither should you or I.

What God sized adventure is awaiting us? There is no way we can know unless we drop the nets and follow.

To Be Continued…

Relationships part 2.

In my last blog I shared a lesson that I have learned on how relationships affect and touch people’s hearts, I want to share similar stories about a couple other girls in my next posts, from now on in my blogs I would rather keep their names anonymous for their protection.

Almost three years ago on my first trip to Colombia, I connected with one girl because both of us share a common characteristic, we both love to play rough and a little on the side of a tomboy. Well we talked a little and shared a couple of conversations, but never really connected on a deep level. I thought a couple smiles and a hug was enough. Now don’t get me wrong. God can use whatever we can give, but for me, I knew I had more than I was giving, I knew I was holding back to protect my heart from pain. I held this “arms length” attitude with most of the children up until my last two months in Colombia. God broke down my walls. He showed me that every child is important. He is concerned for every child.

So last month I started holding daily English classes with this particular girl that I met three years ago. She is so eager to learn and very intelligent. Other than my African sister, Mercy, I have never seen anyone learn so fast.

I was at a loss how to reach deeper with her, to really get past her “friend” to being her true friend, letting her know how much God loved her and I truly cared, so I prayed for God to show me a way and finally He answered. One day during one of our many classes, I noticed that she had scars on her upper arms, I had never noticed before because she always wore long sleeves. I told her that I had the same type of scars on my arms. She was very surprised and asked me if I was embarrassed by them. I explained that before I was, but that God has showed me that He made me just the way I am. After a long two hour conversation God helped me to explain to her that she is perfect, and that God loves her just the way she is. God softened a very locked heart that day, in the end she said she felt closer to me like a sister, and “Hermana” was her name for me the rest of my time there. God is still working on my friend, but I know that He has plans for her. She is a born leader, and very open to God. I used to be so insecure about how to help people, how to change people, but God has shown me, we only plant the seeds, the Holy Spirit is in charge of what happens after that, it is His work not ours, but He graciously invites us along for the ride, as my dad likes to call it, “Going to work with Daddy” He gets the glory and we get the joy.

Love Brooke

I feel I learned a valuable lesson from the children of colombia. As I have witnessed time and again, people respond to relationship. They respond to time and effort on getting to really know them. I learned that if you want to affect a persons life, take the time to convince them you mean business, you are here to stay, that you truly love them and care about them.

About 20 times in the new testament it says that Jesus reached out and touched people, He did not throw out some religious words at them and keep moving. He did not casually wave His hand and heal people as He passed carelessly by. He took the time to care about people. He touched them. He listened to them. He took the time and energy to show that He cared. This is not as easy as some would think. To give all you are and open your heart to the danger of being trampled, or rejected, is a very difficult undertaking. Sometimes it can be the most painful experience, especially when dealing with the people that need it the most.

For example Andrea, a beautiful girl that I met at Santa Maria. She was a newer girl so she lived in the “house of the stars.” I had been watching her for a couple weeks. She struck me because she always wore very thick eye liner and was always in the principles office at school. One day my ”Colombian mom” came home and told me that one of the girls had tried to commit suicide and was in the emergency room. I prayed for that girl that night, unknowing that it was this same girl I had been watching. Twice during my time there she went to the emergency room for this reason.

Finally one day my friend Oscar invited me to come and have a sit down with this girl. She was a little shy of me at first, because prior to this I had not met her face to face. I had just waved hi a couple times and we exchanged a couple smiles. But as we talked and I just sat there and listened she eased up and began to just speak from her heart. She was so afraid of being judged, but once she realized I was not perfect and just wanted to listen to her, she was able to confide in us and tell us the reasons for her actions. This girl had not only twice tried to take her own life, but 12 times. She had scars all up her wrists and bandages from her many attempts. She fully expected me to jump on her and tell her how wrong and sinful it was to try and play God, to take her life into her own hands, but… I prayed silently to God, “what can I possibly say to this girl, if she is so low, to try to even take her own life, how can I help her? What words can make anything better,” But I felt that God was telling me, this girl did not need a sermon, this girl needed to see Jesus, to feel his arms around her. God did not preach to the harlot. He showed her love, and said, “sin no more.” I took her hands in mine, and said, “you are beautiful, just the way you are. God made you just how He wanted, and He loves you and has a purpose and a plan for your life.” From that day on she called me her big sister, and always said hi to me with a smile. I had many other opportunities to show her the love of Jesus.

The lesson I learned was, people don’t only need to hear about Jesus, but we have to establish the relationship first, no one is going to listen and truly hear someone that has not first gained their trust, respect, and shown that they truly care. Anyone can throw words at a person, not everyone can give their time, effort and heart into helping a person.

To be continued…

Love Brooke

In my recent two month internship in Colombia I spent most of my time in an institution called Santa Maria, this is the same institution where my God-sister lives.

On one occasion I was invited by my friend to a prayer meeting that is held one night a month at every institution. This night I went to the one held at San Miguelito. When we arrived all the little boys and babies were patiently waiting for us in the group room. One by one the pregnant mothers entered the room and sat down I was able to see Louisa again and her best friend. I can’t remember her name but we were able to catch up and share some time together. Afterward we sang a few songs and a few of the kids got up and read prayers out loud for the group. It was amazing to see these kids ministering to each other at such a young age. Then it came time for all of us to pray together. I felt God hard on my heart that night to pray for these precious kids. As I stood there praying I felt eyes on me. I looked up and saw a young mother, watching me pray. I just flashed her a quick smile and continued. After we had finished, a little girl came up to me and asked my name and why I was in Colombia. I introduced myself and told her that I felt God calling me to come and serve the children of Colombia. She smiled and shook her head. We talked for a little and then she had to go to bed. She said she hoped to see me again soon and thanked me for coming.

Shortly after my friend ushered me upstairs to the pregnant mothers room. Many of these girls are barely into their teens. They are victims of rape, abuse, trafficking, and sin. As we approached a bed my friend explained that one of the girls was having pain in her stomach and had been bleeding for two days, but she was only five months along. I kneeled by her bed and put my hand on her stomach. My friend spoke softly to her, asking if she knew who Jesus was and what He meant to her. She said through tears that she did and that she had trusted Him as her Lord and Savior but she was very concerned for her baby. We asked if we could pray for her, she was more than happy to accept.

After we had prayed and were about to leave a young mother ran up to me and grabbed my hand, I recognized her from down stairs, she was the one who had been staring at me during prayer. It was hard to make out what she was trying to say at first, she seemed very distressed. I got the idea that she was seven months pregnant and was very scared. She was not ready to be a mother, she was concerned about how to raise a child, and what the future held for her. She asked me to pray for her so I gave her a hug and prayed. I felt so lost as to what to say to this girl. I could not say that everything was going to be fine. I did not know what to do. But after we prayed together, I saw a bit of peace come over her face. I knew God was at work in this girl, I told her that He has a plan for her life, and for the life growing inside her, and that if she trusted Him, she would not have to worry.

When I reached home that night, I knelt by my bed and just sighed a prayer for both of those girls, and I thank God that the one is now fine and her baby is fine too. God is good. Please keep all the young mothers of San Miguelito in your prayers that God would give them strength and peace.

These last two months have honestly been the best experience of my entire 19 years, I cannot thank God enough for the two months He allowed me to share with His precious angels.

On my second day in Colombia, I visited a little institution named San Miguelito, (little saint michael), I had visited this institution on prior mission trips and knew a couple of the children there but of course felt a bit uneasy and awkward at first, but my fears subsided quickly as I was led into a room full of the most adorable 2-5 year olds you can imagine. I spent about an hour playing with them. They love to sit on my lap and show me their elephant pictures made out of glue and macaroni pieces. I had been in that room for about an hour when I heard a familiar voice call my name. I looked up and peeking through the door was my friend Louisa, who I had met about a year ago and had not seen or heard of since. I cannot explain the joy that flooded my heart as I saw her smiling face. She took me upstairs and introduced me to all her friends and also to her baby boy Andres (Andrew). She is still seven months pregnant with him but she put my hand on her stomach and said, “this is my angel.”

I am so grateful to God that I was able to reunite with my friend and know that she is safe, we spent the whole day together just catching up and sharing dreams for the future, this was a major highlight for my time in Colombia, please keep Louisa in your prayers, and all the beautiful children of Colombia.

On January 30, 2011 I wrote a blog called Power Through Weakness that is near and dear to my heart and to which I received much positive response. Here is part II.

“Have you never yet learned the lesson that the Holy Ghost works with mighty power, while on the human side everything appears feeble?” – Andrew Murray

Jesus is our example in everything and readers of this blog and those who have attended mission trips with me know that I love to highlight certain areas in Jesus life that are heroic and admirable and encourage the imitation of such. But in re-reading Andrew Murray’s sermon Absolute Surrender, I remembered another area of Jesus life worth exploring. His weakness.

Some of the most anointed and powerful victories in Jesus life and earthly ministry occurred at moments of His greatest human weakness.

Take for example His being tested in the wilderness for 40 days. After fasting, being alone, no comfortable bed, no shelter, with wild beasts, and so on for 40 days Jesus must have been nearly as weak as a human being can get but no one can deny the incredible power of the Holy Spirit that was upon Him as He thrice defeats Satan, the arch tempter of the universe. Luke says, “Luke 4:13-15   When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.” In His human weakness the Holy Spirit was strong. And so with us.

Again, at the well of Samaria Jesus is so exhausted and hungry that the disciples leave Him there and go into town to buy food. But though He is weak in body Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit and He begins to witness to the Samaritan woman and a whole town gets saved. Power through and in spite of weakness.

There are others (asleep in the ship but rises to calm the storm, weary and seeking a quiet place but ending up feeding 5 thousand, and more) but one of the most heart-wrenching examples may be in the Garden of Gethsemane.

About this Andrew Murray says, “Look at the Lord Jesus Christ in Gethsemane. We read that He, ‘through the eternal Spirit,’ offered Himself a sacrifice unto God. The Almighty Spirit of God was enabling Him to do it. And yet what agony and fear and exceeding sorrow came over Him, and how He prayed! Externally, you can see no sign of the mighty power of the Spirit, but the Spirit of God was there. And even so, while you are feeble and fighting and trembling, in faith in the hidden work of God’s Spirit do not fear, but yield yourself.”

And who could miss the significance of Christ’s human weakness at the trial, the scourging, and the cross. And who could deny that though outwardly it appeared that the young Rabbi from Galilee had lost and lost big yet behind the scenes the greatest victory in history was taking place!

Let’s not get distracted with our weakness and our losses in this realm and forget that just behind the curtain God may be doing something incredible as long as we stay submitted to and resting in Him.

Blessings,

Matt

Read Part III HERE