Month: July 2012

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    Soccer Camp Pictures! (Part 1)

    Our fifth annual soccer camp was, once again, the best soccer camp yet!  This year we managed to hold the camp on the US army base in Seoul, so we were able to play on beautiful turf fields.  The kids loved it!  We had 47 boys attend from 6 different children homes and we had about 42 volunteers serve all three days (Monday – Wednesday).  

    What I love about the soccer camp is that although it costs a fair amount of money to run, pretty much all the money spent is for the kids… to not only provide their needs (clothes, shoes, swimsuits, transportation, food) but to also make them feel special (they feel like real soccer players in the uniforms and they love the food we serve them and are always excited and thankful for it).  But more than meeting material needs and providing them with a fun soccer camp, the kids are most blessed by our amazing volunteers.  All the volunteers are prepped by our ministry and all of them make a commitment before the camp to love and serve the kids no matter what, even if the kids are rebellious or difficult at times.  And because of that unconditional love, even our most difficult boys change so much over just three days.  Whereas they wouldn’t listen or give high fives or show thanks the first day, by the last day the teams are like families, the high fives and hugs are nonstop, and the kids are expressing their gratefulness.  They no longer feel like orphans: insecure, angry, or alone… but rather they feel like brothers to each other and relatives to all the loving volunteers.  The soccer camp is a glimpse of the long term vision we have for the orphanage ministry… to see all the children transformed into strong, secure kids who know they are special and who know they are safe in loving family.
     
    Enjoy the pictures!  I plan to post more in a few days.  You can find almost all the pictures at our Jerusalem Ministry page on Facebook.  Please check out the page and like it for us.  Thanks!  =)
     
    Five boys from my children’s home were able to attend.  Let me introduce them to you…

    Do Kyoon, our only 6th grader and our star soccer player

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    Won Bin, now in 5th grade and growing more confident with each camp

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    Han Bin, our other 5th grader… he scored THREE goals during the camp!!!  I was really proud of him, he happened to be at the right place at the right time for each goal and he finished well.  He was overwhelmed by his success.  =)

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    Ji Won, our 4th grader whose team won the championship

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    Sun Jae, our other 4th grader oozing with confidence and energy… I was really proud of his attitude during the camp, despite his competitiveness he kept positive even in defeat

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    That’s me, preparing to referee a match while sporting our volunteer t-shirt that my wife Sky designed for us

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    Team Brazil… Sky is to the far left =)

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    Team Netherlands… our most positive last place team of any soccer camp, the kids attitudes have gotten better and better with each year!

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    Team Germany goofing around

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    Team Argentina looking good… each team had 7 – 9 volunteers and we had more volunteers on the side taking care of administrative stuff (nurses, refs, organizers, etc).  God is so good!

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    Every day we would start with prayer…

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    Netherland team doing “trust fall” as a bonding activity at the beginning of the camp

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    And here they go!

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    More bonding activities, filled with smiles and laughter

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    Team Germany with their pregame huddle routine that the kids all loved (swaying back and forth and then chanting out Germany)

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    My boys Han Bin and Do Kyoon enjoying popsicles during a break

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    Volunteer Na Rai walking with one of her boys to our other field

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    One of my favorite pics from the camp… volunteer John with one of the boys he helped coached last year

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    More pictures are to come!  Check out our page on Facebook (“Jerusalem Ministry”) and like it for us.  God bless!  =)

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    Shaky Foundations…

    Whenever Sky and I hold counseling sessions for people and lead them through healing of past wounds and deliverance of bondage/sin/lies they’ve been carrying, we can always tell who will walk out their newfound freedom best.  It is the people who have a foundation of knowing God’s Word and obeying it.  Has to be both.  These are the people who are able to receive truth the best and won’t let the enemy steal it from them.  But for those who don’t know the Word or who disregard the truth in it, they are usually all over the place… up and down in their faith, like a roller coaster.

    True Christianity is a walk up the mountain of the Lord.  If we are walking consistently then our muslces are only getting stronger and stronger.  That means when we have a moment where we experience a surge in our faith (such as at a church retreat or revival or after going through a session of deep healing/deliverance) our muscles are able to endure the surge and we are able to continue on, only growing stronger.  But for those who have been walking with God inconsistently and have weak legs, the surge can feel great while they are in it but in the end they are spiritually wrecked.  The enemy is able to sweep in and attack them in their weak condition and they end up tumbling farther back than they were at before.

    Matthew 7:24-27 – Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, becasue it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

    Enjoy the Word of God!  Ask the Holy Spirit always for revelation before you open your Bible.  Become established on solid ground with strong spiritual muscles.  Nothing will shake you anymore.

    God bless!

  • Relying on Yesterday’s Anointing…

    For years when I would lead prayer at prayer meetings the hearts of people there would be stirred and there would be a strong anointing, even when I wasn’t as mature and experienced in faith and in the ministry.  During those same years I made sure I had extended times of prayer with the Lord as often as possible, every day if I could then.  Those times of prayer weren’t always powerful, but it was clear that I was storing up more and more Living Water with every prayer time and so when I would get to lead prayer I would be overflowing.

    But then I began to minister more and more often.  I became a lay pastor at my church and led a church plant team to plant another church in Seoul.  I began to have to minister more and more.  While most of my sermons had been sharp before because they were few and far between, when I had to start preaching more often I found myself having to pace myself.  Some sermons were powerful, while others were just the word that needed to be shared.  I would be hard on myself when I didn’t feel there was much power in a sermon I would give.  I would feel like I hadn’t pressed in hard enough.  God was having to teach me grace.

    Through grace I began to learn how to rely on the Lord more… not so much relying on how much time I spent with the Lord (although this of course was important), but trusting that whatever the Lord would give me from that time would be right, even if it wasn’t a power-packed word.  

    Now though, I’ve led prayer and preached enough sermons and taught enough seminars that I’ve finally grown comfortable in these roles (I never thought this day would come!).  And now I’m facing a new danger… relying on yesterday’s anointing for the ministry today.  There is such a delicate balance of pressing in to the Lord and walking in His grace.  If we press in too hard we are becoming religious about our time with God and making it more about getting something out of Him rather than just being with Him.  But if we just relax and spend some simple time with the Lord and not press in all the time we can actually lose touch with the Lord.  We need a balance.

    My wife doesn’t want a powerful date every time we go out.  She loves a romantic date and special occasions, but too much can be too much.  She would rather just hang out with me most of the time.  I have to keep a balance… it’s good to relax with her… but it’s also good to keep sharp and do something special here now and then… I can’t rely on the memories of our past powerful dates for our passion and love to keep strong.

    These days I feel the Lord longing for some of those powerful, passionate times with Him.  He isn’t demanding, I just know it’s going to be good.  It will keep me from relying on yesterday’s anointing… and I know I will be overflowing again.

    God bless!