prayers over Sarajevo

My friends I am writing you to share with you about friends of mine working with Campus Crusade in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I ask you to pray for them and their work throughout 2010 and especially this coming weekend from March 5 as they are having a retreat where they will bring several Bosnian students to hear about God's love for them. Pray for walls to be taken down in hearts in preparation of this retreat and for the staff in Bosnia to have many spiritual conversations and connections to the students lives over that retreat. Even if you read this after that weekend still pray for the seeds planted there to come to fruition.

Two of those stinters in Bosnia, Griffin Gibson and Chad Sonnedecker, play music often in a local pub. I am posting a great video for yall to listen to and help to you pray over them and their team in Sarajevo. (Griffin is on mandolin and Chad on guitar with the owner playing as well and another local singing). see yall sooooon.

a weekend in Durban

Durban. what a cool city. I recently traveled down there to visit the American STINT team that is reaching out to students at Kwazu-Natal University. This is a great group of Stinters who all recently graduated from colleges from the likes of UGA, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Florida except one who has come abroad mid college career from Florida International.

It was a great weekend of some beach time (temps in the 80s), my first ever pro rugby game, and an American Valentine's Day cookout featuring grilled cheeseburgers and chicken kabobs thanks to Dan and Barrett. On Sunday night we all went to see Avatar in 3D in the largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere(Gateway). An amazing movie but left me a little weird with the earthy and ancestry worship.

I would have loved more time down there but much is going on here in Johannesburg that needs more investment. Hopefully I will be able to get back there sometime in the next couple months again. Please pray for that team to find open doors of minstry on campus.

Here are some pictures from the rugby, post Avatar, and the cookout/pool partaaaay.

SuperSport

Today we toured the television giant SuperSport. It was just awesome. Peter Davies took us around the building showing us the dynamics of how the produce and record shows. Our national director Chris had been praying for quite sometime to meet one of the anchors because he is a Christian and today Chris met his man. It was just a blast. Now Im packing up for Durban...have a great weekend

ESPN Africa! and off to Durban...

So mid January I as attending the South Africa vs England Test Match of Cricket here in Johannesburg. We arrived early in the morning as test matches start around 10am each day. As it was early I decided that I wanted some breakfast and the stadium did offer some so I got out of my seat and went to fetch some grub. When I entered the hallway I saw a commentator that used to work for ESPN and its soccer broadcasts. His name is Peter Davies. Peter is now working here in his native South Africa with the sports TV giant called SuperSport. SuperSport is like the ESPN of southern Africa. They are the leaders in broadcasting any type of sport from cricket to soccer to rowing. So backtrack to when I got here I started praying for connections to come through for us in AIA during the 2010 World Cup..connections that would gain us access to influential people. Long story short I exchanged details with Mr. Davies and through some emails and texts I have arranged for our AIA Staff team to tour the SuperSport facility tomorrow. It may not be the biggest deal but it is the start of a great friendship between AIA and SuperSport. Its like making good friends with ESPN and maybe some stuff happens who knows. Maybe they show an AIA DVD late night when one of their 8 channels has nothing to air....yes they have SuperSport the OCHO! jk they dont call it that. So please be praying over our tour and the relationships formed.


This weekend I will be catching a ride with some friends to Midmar where the largest open water swim race in the world. No, I am not racing but I am getting Barrett Grant to pick me up and take me back to Durban for a great weekend with his Crusade STINT team from the States. It will be great to see some more Americans in Africa. Monday morning I will be flying back to Joburg just in time for our 9am staff meeting. Pictures will surely follow the weekend.

Make sure yall back home save me some of that snow! I sure do miss it. (well not you momma...yall still got temps in the 70s like us here in SA) I check back with yall soon. have a great weekend

First Sermon (click here for audio link)

for everyone who prayed over my 'sermon' tonight at church thank you. The Holy Spirit just flew through me and I was just incredibly thankful for the opportunity. I will most likely have a chance again to speak and develop a good relationship with this church. It went very well.

A funny part as you listen to the sermon is that at the beginning nobody introduced me or anything. I wasnt briefed at all so i just got up there after about a minute of awkward silence and began...well stumbled in to my talk...thank you Lord for Godly-awkwardness.

I pray that as you listen it will speak to you as well. Special thanks to the Felts and Marrissa for posting that you were going to pray and the others that sent me emails and texts.



A few prayer requests for the week:

-Society Week at the University of Johannesburg this week (we will be working a booth and encouraging athletes to be a part of Athletes in Action on Campus).

-My friends Adam and Ashley Cristman in their recent relocation to Washington DC as Adam was traded to DC United. They are an amazing couple for Christ and are expecting a little one soon as well! (Viva United!)

-my discipleship with this soccer player named Wayne. Our time couldnt be better as we are digging through the trials of life and sport to see how God has made a way for us to expereience Him through these up and down times.

preaching this Sunday

This coming Sunday Feb. 7 I will be preaching at a church for the first time here in Africa. I am pretty excited about this opportunity and will be taking alot of time out tomorrow to see where the Spirit leads me to speak. I will be preaching around 7pm our time to a group of mostly young adults as the evening service of this mostly Afrikaans church caters to them. If you are keen to pray during that time it would be around 12pm EST in the States.

I am excited, nervous, and joyful that God has considered me worthy of this opportunity. I will be sure to report back to yall after I speak and let you know how it went.

enjoy the snow for me back home!