May 20th, 2008
"We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy." (1st John 1:3-4)
The musicianary tour through Hawaii, Philippines, England, Austria, Maine, New York, Indiana & California has begun J
The first few days in Hawaii have been exceedingly and abundantly more wonderful than we would have ever thought or prayed for. We have already done a handful of concerts and have seen so many prayers answered during this last week that our faith as a team and as individuals has been enflamed like never before. Amazing miracles have been the norm during this season of our ministry and the great things God has done only leaves us more humbled and excited than we have ever been.
PRAISE GOD FOR PRAYERS ANSWERED
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." (Psalm 100:4)
Last week before the team left for the world tour we were praying the Lord would provide for a new bass guitar, bass amp, and traveling case. We were able to find the perfect set up for about half the retail price (huge blessing) and we almost bought it right away! Then we realized we didn’t have the $1,200 we needed for it so we spent time praying as a team. We knew that if God wanted us to have the equipment, He would provide in His way and in His timing. The next morning we woke up and exactly $1,200 dollars was deposited in our bank account (unexpected tax refund!). We prayed, He provided and now we have an awesome bass that will help us be more able to serve at our outreach concerts and times of worship at churches.
The last day our team spent here in Orange County was full of the Holy Spirit impacting us spiritually, emotionally and physically. Tuesday, May 13th will be a day none of us will ever forget.
Spiritually we were blessed as we spent the day fasting and praying as a team. During the end of the afternoon, we had a small group gather to pray, worship and read the Bible. We also had many friends and family call in to join us on speakerphone. By the end of the two hours, our group was spread all over the room worshiping, some on their knees weeping while others were quietly dancing with big smiles of true joy. The Lord was with us and we knew we were in His perfect will as we were ready to depart for the trip He planned and was allowing us to partake in.
Emotionally it was a very stressful time. Mostly good stress, but still stress. We bless the name of Jesus Christ because His love flowed through each of us and He kept a great sense of peace and unity among the chaos. The great emotional moment we shared together was that night, during dinner, as we broke our fast together. The Holy Spirit (through one of the tnG servants) gave the other nine adults on the team a single specific word that described what God was doing in their lives. The words were: obedient, humble, worshipful, devoted, willing, passionate, joyful, zealous and loving. It is very emotional just to type the words out because it brings to remembrance that great feeling of comfort and affirmation that only our King could provide. Some of us wept as we all agreed it was the Lord speaking these words of Life.
Physically we were blessed in ways that are still shocking to realize. That morning we were at the music store and someone we met at a concert came up to us and said “You are going to need this” and put about a hundred dollars into one of our pockets. Later that afternoon another believer told someone on our team that the Lord told them to give our ministry something they had been saving in their Bible for a long time-it was a hundred dollar bill.
We have never once asked or even implied that we need or want people to support us financially. We know God has guided us to this ministry and He will provide! But for those two things to happen in the same day made us feel so taken care of by the Lord.
However, the greatest physical blessing happened that night after we ate dinner. As we were finishing our meal (at Marie Calendar’s) and the waiter came up to our table and said “I don’t know what is going on, but someone paid for part of your bill and left a card for you”. It turned out a lady that we gave one of our CDs to, in the lobby about an hour earlier, charged her credit card $124 towards our meal, not knowing what the bill would be. Our meal after taxes came to $123.24!
The card said: “To Take No Glory, thank you for the CD-it’s great! Showing God’s love for you in a practical way and praying for your travel mercies! Blessings, Misti (the lady in the lobby) God’s provision toward your meal.” As the card was read and we realized what had happened a few of us teared up and were speechless. Most of us wept. We couldn’t contain ourselves. Our Heavenly Father had once again shown His love to us through a person that we were trying to witness to.
The next morning it took 3 vehicles to drop off our team and all our stuff. We almost had 50 bags (if we include backpacks and purses) that we were checking in and carrying on the plane. Because we had so many extra bags and a lot of our items were over the size/weights limits our (unexpected) fees totaled over a thousand dollars. The first three thoughts Ian had when he found out was: [1] “Oh no, this is going to happen on all nine of our flights.” [2] “I guess we are gonna go hungry a lot, we already don’t have money for food!” [3] “Help us Lord. You are faithful and we trust You.” Within a couple minutes someone said they might pass some bags though without fees.
Ian quickly went up to the guy helping us and asked, “I heard you might let our bags through without fees. Is that true!?!” The fellow started laughing and replied, “I’ve worked here for 8 years. They never let bags through, but I’m going to wrap a couple together and it will save you a hundred bucks or so.” “Thanks so much for helping” Ian responded and walked away. Eric walked out of the terminal a few minutes later with a look of shock on his face. “Ian, they are waiving EVERY fee. I don’t know why. The lady just said ‘God bless you’ and waived all the fees!” We didn’t know if we should laugh or cry. Bless the Lord J
"I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak His praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness;
let us exalt his name together."
(Psalm 34:1-3)
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR US
"He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)
That God would be exalted, honored, praised and receive ALL the glory in everything we do! For our continued unity and dependence on the Holy Spirit. That we would love, encourage and lay our life down for one another. For us to be diligent and self-controlled while also enjoying our time serving Jesus. We wouldn’t set expectations in anything but God’s goodness and faithfulness. For us to maintain surrendered, humble and dependent hearts to the Lord. That we would be servants to all (esteeming others higher than ourselves). Pray for our safety & health. That we would continually put on the full armor of God, for protection from spiritual attacks. That we would remain steadfast in His Word.
We would effectively serve others while in Hawaii. That God's Spirit would move in the hearts of the people there. Pray for the ministries we are working with there: Calvary Chapel Central Oahu, Calvary Chapel Leeward, Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor, Horizon Christian Fellowship Honolulu, North Shore Christian Fellowship, The Salvation Army, Waipio Grace Brethren Church and any other ministries the Holy Spirit allows us to co-labor with. That we would bless, exhort and encourage everyone we co-labor with and everyone we minister to.
We have already freely given over 50,000 albums and each of them have “Unauthorized Duplication Is Appreciated And Encouraged” printed on them. Pray those CDs will continue to be copied by believers and used as effective witnessing tools. Provision to purchase 500,000 more CDs to give away as witnessing tools while on this tour. This will cost about two hundred thousand dollars to manufacture and ship them overseas.
For our provision to take care of our families and not be a physical burden on those we serve. Pray that we will be able to sell our remaining vehicle so we will have the funds to cover our housing, transportation and food while we are in the Philippines (about five thousand) and Austria (about ten thousand). We need provision for housing, transportation and food while we are serving in England from Friday, June 27th until Wednesday, August 6th. Provision for one or two RVs when we arrive back in the states on August 20th.
The marriages (Jeff & Melanie, Ian & Johnna, Eric & Mandy). The kids (Eden-4 years old & Elijah-3 years old). The servants (Chris, Conner, Landon & Landrew).
"A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
One other exciting opportunity the Lord has opened up is to use the Take No Glory house for missionary families while we are gone during the summer. The tnG home is a 1,600 square foot 3 bed, 2 bath home about two blocks from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. The church actually has over 100 missionary families they prayerfully and financially support. So the house will be a real blessing for them to use when missionaries are visiting. Please pray for the host family: Isaac & Andrea Love. They will be serving the missionary families that stay here. What an honor it is that our home can still be used for ministry even when we’re gone!
We love you with the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please reply to this email and let us know how we can be praying for you. If you would like some free copies of our album “Wake Me Up”, let us know your address and how many you are able to give away.
"I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Ephesians 3:14-20)
Joyfully serving Jesus,
The Take No Glory Team
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