Posts Tagged: YWAM

Uncategorized — 14 Comments
29
Apr 08

With Love and Flowers

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She is Beautiful, yet she doesn’t always think so

She has big dreams for a bright career

When she is nervous, she plays with her hair

She has a birthday… 1977 although I would have guessed the 80’s

She has two smiles, the real one is much better

She wants to have a baby and a family

She wants to forget about this part

She hopes for something more

(http://bp2 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbqaG1WNoI/AAAAAAAAAaY/ysZzLDS3Y3U/s1600-h/0804029Blog26 NULL.jpg)[One of the many alleys in the Red Light District]

Awkwardly standing in front of the window I put my heart on the line by extending my love through a white and pink rose. Droplets of water had formed on the delicate petals and had smudged the writing on the love letter than accompanied the stem. I was no one, maybe even a potential client. The message was simple – God created you, your life is important, His love for you is better than life itself.

We all need to be loved. We were created with a desire for intimacy, for deep personal connection. Amsterdam is one of the last places that you will find it.

(http://bp0 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbqam1WNpI/AAAAAAAAAag/m8PiVHGJXgc/s1600-h/0804029Blog25 NULL.jpg)[I was amazed at the amount of tour-groups threading through the district]

We got a small group together and started praying about what we should write to accompany the flowers that we would hand out to the girls behind the glass. We rifled through our pocket sized Bibles led by ideas and references that would speak life into a dark place. Although we didn’t get around to doing a whole lot with the ministries in the RLD because of the short time we were there, this was what God wanted us to do; possibly even the reason that we were here.

The next night we stared at all of the flowers before getting busy attaching the love notes. Someone had been looking for something to give money towards and when they heard of the Flower Campaign, the Lord provided more than enough through them. There were ten of us that were going out on delivery, carrying with us more than flowers and strips of paper.

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(http://bp0 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbqam1WNqI/AAAAAAAAAao/xz5rd6k-WNs/s1600-h/0804029Blog24 NULL.jpg)[The Cleft is in the middle of the Red Light District and provides some amazing ministries to the lost and broken]

The time had come. We paired up and headed out. I went with Deni, one of the staff of the track. As we walked, the closer we came to our destination, the more feelings stirred in our hearts. We arrived with an arm-full of flowers. The first interaction was the most difficult and nerve-racking. As far as we knew, people just didn’t do what we were doing; there was always something else involved. I have an odd way of explaining what happened when they received the flower and knew that it was a gift… It appeared as if scales fell from their eyes. It is a weird way of explaining the phenomenon, but words escape me if I try to say it any differently. Their eyes literally changed and they became human. Now, obviously, I know that they are human, made in God’s image and deeply loved, but they have been objectified to the point that there is a disconnect with who God created them to be. So when they received something beautiful for simply being loved by God, grace came flooding in. With some it was a little more obvious than others, but I know that the messages symbolized in the flower were delivered precisely to the people they should have. It was an amazing time, I too, felt valued and loved by God.

We continued to walk, praying. We realized that we were no different from the people walking around the RLD searching. They search for the girl that will satisfy, but we know that the love of Christ and the Father is the only thing. We have all given ourselves over to selfish desires as well, searching for that element of life that will set us on fire with fulfillment. It is part of what being human is. One of my favorite authors, Brennan Manning puts it this way. “To be alive is to be broken. And to be broken is to stand in need of grace.” We all need the remarkable, exposing, and uncomplicated love of Christ. Since I have seen a glimpse, it doesn’t make me any better, because without Him, I am nothing, wretched.

(http://bp2 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbq6G1WNwI/AAAAAAAAAbY/ga7yUyM6EzA/s1600-h/0804029Blog13 NULL.jpg)[St. Nicholas Church in towers over the Red Light District (not seen here). Interestingly enough, St. Nicholas is the Patron Saint of prostitutes among other things]

We were on our way out of the district when I looked down and saw a broken flower on the ground… someone in our group had given it out. I reached down and picked up the discarded blossom saddened by what it represented. The paper was torn, the writing blurred beyond recognition. The head of the daisy was incredibly whole so I kept it, not knowing what the future would hold. As we passed the last window on our way out, my eyes met the disconnected glance of the girl who occupied it. I approached the window, again putting my hope on the line. She opened the window and we began to talk. Deni and I stood awkwardly as she explained all the scenarios of why we should come inside… It was difficult to stand there, extremely uncomfortable. Why was I standing there? Why had I found that last flower? Why this window? We eventually paid for 30 minutes of her time (how it usually works) and entered the room, flooded with red and black lights. We took off our rain soaked jackets and sat down on the bed. As we talked about life, hopes, family, and hard times, the
time flew by. 45 minutes later it was time to go, she had to get back to work, we had to go back to the base. Since then, my mind has replayed the events of that night over and over in my head… We said goodbye and I hoped that I would never see her in that window again. What can I say? What words can describe the thoughts in my head and feelings in my heart? There aren’t enough flowers.

(http://bp1 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbqa21WNrI/AAAAAAAAAaw/H3Ytez3MRBY/s1600-h/0804029Blog23 NULL.jpg)["Window Shopping" as it is often called]

I came to Amsterdam frustrated, but left with a broken heart. I look forward to going back. It is a city of confusion, brokenness, and misguided seeking, but also a city where those who are searching can be filled with everlasting water and the Bread of Life. Where sin abounds, so does Grace(Romans 5:20).

May love flow from God into your life and from your life into the lives of others.
The opportunity is ours.

In Christ,
John Paul

Enjoy the Pictures!

(http://bp2 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbruG1WNyI/AAAAAAAAAbo/luXlE5fSY_0/s1600-h/0804029Blog10 NULL.jpg)[Bikes are super popular... it is easy to make a biker mad, just get in their way]

(http://bp1 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbyB21WN7I/AAAAAAAAAcw/WywBW5wAQSc/s1600-h/0804029Blog09 NULL.jpg)[People lock their bikes up everywhere]

(http://bp0 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbyBm1WN6I/AAAAAAAAAco/ntPsdegV6Ys/s1600-h/0804029Blog07 NULL.jpg)[A little lightpainting at the "Skinny Bridge"]

(http://bp3 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbruW1WNzI/AAAAAAAAAbw/m5oJ5N-pM04/s1600-h/0804029Blog08 NULL.jpg)[Amsterdam is famous for it's canals as well]

(http://bp0 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbyBm1WN5I/AAAAAAAAAcg/UojO2KMgXwc/s1600-h/0804029Blog06 NULL.jpg)[The Hermitage Amsterdam... I have no idea what this one is for, but traditionally, Hermitages are religious centers]

(http://bp0 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbrum1WN0I/AAAAAAAAAb4/wQxut_CzYPc/s1600-h/0804029Blog05 NULL.jpg)[I really like this picture...}

(http://bp0 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbrum1WN1I/AAAAAAAAAcA/ntoYbwHgi-8/s1600-h/0804029Blog02 NULL.jpg)[When YWAM first started in Amsterdam, the staff all lived on barges in the canals]

(http://bp2 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbyBG1WN3I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/UPaZ2JWEKGY/s1600-h/0804029Blog03 NULL.jpg) (http://bp3 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbyBW1WN4I/AAAAAAAAAcY/iNPjIA70LhU/s1600-h/0804029Blog04 NULL.jpg)

(http://bp0 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbrum1WN2I/AAAAAAAAAcI/8WX-xXsv6as/s1600-h/0804029Blog01 NULL.jpg)[Old Buildings... budding trees]

(http://bp0 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbq5m1WNtI/AAAAAAAAAbA/jFU86gCx6WI/s1600-h/0804029Blog19 NULL.jpg)[Wooden Shoe (Clog) Factory, Zaandijk]

(http://bp2 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbyuG1WOAI/AAAAAAAAAdY/QGsiRRT0r8Y/s1600-h/0804029Blog20 NULL.jpg)[Some wooden tulips at the clog factory]

(http://bp1 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbq521WNuI/AAAAAAAAAbI/BtQeHUZmQfk/s1600-h/0804029Blog18 NULL.jpg)[Tulips, Zaandijk]

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(http://bp2 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbq6G1WNvI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/hAq29D62jIM/s1600-h/0804029Blog15 NULL.jpg)[There was also a Carnival at Dam Square]

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(http://bp1 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBbqa21WNsI/AAAAAAAAAa4/htcTgBkJv7Q/s1600-h/0804029Blog21 NULL.jpg)[Some Windmills at Zaandijk]

(http://bp3 NULL.blogger NULL.com/_qnp_-5yGoRQ/SBby6W1WOBI/AAAAAAAAAdg/ZGGCY_VqHPU/s1600-h/0804029Blog22 NULL.jpg)[Cottages on the Canals in Zaandijk]

Uncategorized — 2 Comments
15
Dec 07

Rocked by Tragedy, our Global Family Grieves

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Blog entries, emails, and skype calls confirm a deep and dark tragedy that unfolded at the end of last week. In Denver, my home town at the YWAM base, 2 DTS staff were shot and killed on base 2 others injured, then the shooter appeared later at a Colorado Springs Church, New Life, opens fire, and kills two more before being injured by a security guard eventually taking his own life.
What do we say to something like this? Please stop reading now and just think about it… I sit and watch my cursor blinking, waiting for an answer, but I have none.
There are no words that can express the sadness that I feel for the families of all involved. I was speaking with my mother around the time the second shooting occurred, still getting impressions from the first ones late Sunday night (9:30pm was 12:30pm Denver). Then next morning, with more news the track students and staff got together to worship and pray. We stood on the rooftop, the sun shining through the crisp air. We raised our voices to the sky and the warm vapors of our life went with them made visible by the brisk winter around us.

I couldn’t sing, I couldn’t speak… I could only cry. I wept… I wept for Denver, I wept for the United States, I wept for the world, and I wept for the lost. My face grimaced in sorrow as I hid it from the group tears flowing freely. I could feel my heart physically stressed as if someone had its hands around it squeezing the life out of it. I acknowledged this pain, but at the same time heard God whispering, with sadness in His voice, “Now you know a little bit about my heart and what I feel.” I instantly thought of the Cross and the fact that Jesus died from a broken heart. From then on I kept weeping, but something was different. I wept out of grief, yes, but I also wept simply because I was overwhelmed by the Love of the Father for Denver, the United States, and the world.

He wants you to be His child. He died for you so that you could be His. You don’t have to do anything to get His love; He loved you before you were born. You can’t do anything to get His love, it’s free. Just like there is nothing you can do to get God’s love, there is nothing that you can do to get rid of it either; it’s always there, He’s always there. He asks us, those who follow Him to show His love to others, to carry His love to the far-reaching corners of the world no matter what the cost.

Love… is it easy to love? Is it easy to stare into the eyes of an adorable child, so innocent, blameless, and dependent? Is it easy to stare into the eyes of someone who sells children to the international sex-trade? It may be easy to love the innocent, but what about the guilty?

Will we love that way? Will we respond to the call to love? It will take everything that you have. But what is really yours in the first place? Every gift is from God and all that we have in this world will pass away. Love in a way that is inclusive, drastic, and even reckless. Love brought Jesus to earth and to the cross, but it didn’t leave Him there; His resurrection bringing Hope to humanity. Tragedy makes us want to cry out for, “Jesus come soon, don’t wait.” But until he does, we know that there are so many that haven’t experienced his love and know that His heart breaks for them too.

What happened last weekend is a dreadful tragedy and we should weep for our family; the body of Christ. Please keep the families in your prayers as well as the staff and students of the DTS and YWAM base in Denver especially.

In Turkey, we are all pretty sick. We were able to host a Photography Exhibition in the city square and named it “Exposing Beauty”. It was a terrific even and some relationships were made with some people who are open for the Gospel. Praise Him! We are all heading our different directions this coming week for Christmas break. Pray that we will all be well and that our travels will be blessed as well as the two weeks we are apart.

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I included some of my needs on the right hand column. It is great being here, but there is a cost that comes with it.
I want to thank my monthly supporters for their obedience to God. This is a team effort and as much their heart as it is mine. I honestly wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t responded to His call and vision for His world. It is a beautiful partnership that God has put together. I honor you for your faithfulness.

Uncategorized — 2 Comments
3
Oct 07

Update from All Over

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Touching down in Capetown, South Africa, I couldn’t believe I was going to be in this beautiful continent for the next month, and again in the months to come. I am sure that it will be filled with different memories and experiences, and look forward to them with all of my heart.

Capetown is like nowhere else I have been in Africa so far. It is actually hard to believe that I had been so close to a place like this only 4 months previous. The weather is cool, windy, and sometimes rainy (the kind that doesn’t include a lot of precipitation and no lightning); unlike Uganda: hot, humid, and prone to downpours with lighting that you think is going to strike you in the head (and the thunder so loud that you think it did).

The people here are a mix of black and white. There are many tribes (like Zulu) that add to the black population, and many “tribes” (like Afrikaans) that add to the white population. Most everyone keeps to themselves, but some are outgoing. The poverty isn’t as blatant and neither are the range of diseases that were found in Ethiopia and Uganda. That isn’t to say that there aren’t the diseases, they just aren’t in the open as much. South Africa still has the highest percentage of HIV infections in the world, and not as much awareness advertising (that I have seen).

As far as the town where we reside, Muizenberg is the location where surfing was introduced to South Africa. I didn’t really know what the living situation would be, but I never expected that we would be only blocks from the beach (I go there every morning). The area also boast the highest population of Great White Sharks in the world. Some of you may have seen documentary features on the Discovery Channel about the sharks that jump out the water to feed; yeah, that’s here off the coast a few kilometers at Seal Island. They do have a shark spotting system here though, which is good for the hundreds of surfers that frequent the breakers.

The PhotogenX team is a little bit smaller than once anticipated. Over 50 were accepted to the program, but now there are only 25 that will be traveling to each place. Probably about 18 have been here most of the time with the DTS portion, and a few joined later (like myself).

I am excited to see what transpires over the next nine months especially. There are some high hopes and great ideas developing, and the overall spirit of the school is positive. I am glad that there is still a huge emphasis on Injustice, which is part of my passion as well. Many of the ideas that I have in my head is what other people have been thinking and processing as well. Its good to fellowship with others who have similar dreams.

I also have a few picture and words about St. Ameria’s in Uganda. PICTURES!!! There has also been expressed interest in sending a YWAM team down there to get some much needed construction accomplished. It continues to amaze me that the work is continuing there. It will be such a blessing to return one day and see all the Lord has done there through people like you.

I want to thank those of you who attended the Not Alone Benefit Photography Show and supported the orphans. I have been in contact with the administration from each of the orphanages and they will be getting the transfers soon! They are very excited even though they don’t know how much they will be getting.

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The whole vision for Not Alone is also going ahead. It may not seem like it for a while, but I know that the time spent here and now will influence the future vision. People have been pretty excited to hear about it and what God has done. For now, I am surrendering the vision to the Creator who will continue to mold and form it into what he wants it to be. That is the best place for it!

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I haven’t decided yet which day that I can update the blog, so hang with me for a few weeks. Since the travel will be sporadic, the blog-updates may be as well! Thank you for your patience. I appreciate the feedback, as usual, and am honored that you would share this experience with me!

Love and Blessings in Christ

John Paul Vicory

[Love is the Movement]