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September, 2007 |
 To spread God's glory to the nations by training, equipping and mentoring Pastors,
Missionaries, and Church leaders for the global harvest of worshipping disciples.
A vision to see Jesus proclaimed, trusted and worshipped among all the peoples of
the earth, and to see the Lord's throne-room filled with worshipping disciples. |
Global Worship
A story of how the Father can lead
when you want to know His will. |
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Key youth leaders have been invited from
all the Spanish-speaking countries from Mexico all the way to Argentina to attend
during October 11-15 and 17-22 for 5 days each of missions mobilization training
near Baranquilla, Colombia!!
The time there will equip them to go back to their
countries to mobilize their churches to evangelize the Amazon window and the 10/40
Window!! Global Worship has been invited to be involved in training these on-fire
international leaders!! We are astounded
at the prospect of impacting several nations
through these key leaders!!
At present we believe that the Lord of the Harvest will
provide the remaining finances that are needed. Our goal is not only
for David and
Micah’s way to be paid (about $1,500 is still needed to complete the tickets), but
to scholarship 4 key leaders in the Amazon (plane fares and training) in order for
them to be able to attend.
We consider this empowering
event of the Hispanic church as a golden opportunity to sow significant seed into
the wonderful soil of world evangelization. Never before has Global Worship had
this great of an opportunity, and we can only advance with your participation in
prayer and in giving.
If you wish to join me at this training or on any future mission trips, please call
immediately and we can make arrangements! We would love for you to come with us!
I have to warn you, though, that you may end up like our senior missionary Bob Smith
traveling all over South America by yourself!! Since going with us on the first
trip, Bob will took his second solo trip to minister to Amazon pastors at the end
of June!!
We hope in a soon upcoming newsletter to pass on his report on to you.
Our Heavenly Father has opened this awesome door of opportunity to impact so many
nations – let us seize this opportunity TOGETHER!! |
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Josiah’s College story
This past year has been quite a difficult one for me (Robin)
as I have anticipated Josiah going off to college. Transition. Changes. It is all
in our perspective and outlook how we perceive what is happening in our lives. Sometimes
we don’t really see God’s viewpoint while we are in the middle of something and
we can look back later and see it. Other times we have to hold onto it while we
feel we are on a tightrope walking over a chasm. The Lord has been so faithful to
confirm along the way that we were headed in the right direction even though at
times I felt like I was on that tight rope with a huge chasm below, meaning there
was Not a lot of clarity in sight. But with clarity we wouldn’t have to trust, would
we? So many of you have been a part of our lives since before Josiah was born and
we left for the mission field and have shared in baby showers, fun times, mission
trips and now a graduation and on to college. We treasure your love and friendship.
It is such a beautiful story how God led Josiah to go to John Brown, that we wanted
to share with you from different perspectives; Josiah’s, mine and a precious friend,
board member and adopted family member, Lois Weinberg. This isn’t about any mission
trips or ministry but about one of our six most precious disciples, our own son,
so please bear with us and hopefully, be blessed!.
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Josiah’s Version
Well, I have been praying A LOT about this whole college decision thing. I wantws
to study Engineering and at first, I thought it was going to be easy, since I REALLY
wanted to go to John Brown University in Siloam Springs (a Christian University).
They had offered me a generous scholarship that would not quite meet all my needs.
But then, the University of Arkansas offered me a full ride, so it was kind of hard
to decide. From there, I spent a lot of time trying to decide between both colleges,
getting all kinds of opinions from people. It was getting really stressful. Finally,
I decided to really get serious about this whole thing since I didn’t have much
time left. I started fasting every breakfast (Which as you know for me is HUGE)
and praying for God’s will in my decision. I realized that it didn’t really matter
about the perks… where my friends were going, where I was going to get the most
money, or even where I would get the most prestigious education. The only thing
that mattered was where God wanted me, and that is what I was praying that God would
reveal to me. The week before my deadline, a friend of my mom suggested that I go
and visit both campuses again and walk around praying to see if God reveals anything
to me. So we went campus visiting. We went to U of A first, and visited the Pomfret
Honors Dorm and the Engineering Buildings. It was really cool.
The whole time I was thinking “Man, I could do this” but there was no excitement,
and I did not really feel a peace. We went over to JBU, and the minute I stepped
onto the campus I felt a complete peace. I kind of questioned it at first… I was
like, “Is this God, or is this me?” But I soon realized that God was giving me this
peace. I felt completely at home, and I really felt like that was where God wanted
me. On the way back home, I told my mom that I felt a peace about JBU, but I wanted
God to confirm it by giving me a scripture. Well, I was thinking about it the next
day, and the phrase, “They shall mount up with wings like eagles” came to mind.
I kind of put it off, and didn’t really do anything about it until Thursday morning
when I saw a shirt that I had. It was an old AWANA t-shirt with a picture of an
eagle and the verse on it – the reference being Isaiah 40:31. I looked it up in
my Bible, and for some reason verse 26 was circled – I never remembered circling
it – so I started reading from there. Man, it was amazing! It was like reading an
account of what I had been going through for the past couple of weeks – There was
one part that said “even youth grow weary, and even young men lose their strength”.
I knew that was me – I was SOOO tired of not having a decision, and it was really
wearing me down and stressing me out. And then the last verse of Isaiah 40 was Isaiah
40:31 – “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar
on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be
faint”. It kind of popped into my head that the JBU mascot was the JBU Eagles –
I was like “MAN, that’s a weird coincidence!” I shared it with my Dad that morning,
and told him that I felt like this was the verse that God had given me as confirmation.
Well, my Dad told my Mom, and when I got home from school that afternoon, my Mom
said, “Josiah, you have to read the rest of Isaiah 40!” So I read it, sitting in
the car there with her, and I almost came to tears – It was even more stuff that
I had been going through, and it was full of promises that were EXACTLY what I needed
at the time! I was so blown away. NOT ONLY that, but at the very end of Isaiah 40
in my Mom’s bible, it before hand to be put on my slideshow for the home school
graduation! At that point, I was blown away, and fully convinced that this was definitely
God’s will, so I went inside to call my JBU admissions counselor to tell him I had
made my decision. After we called him, my mom wanted me to call my Aunt Lois to
tell her, because she said that she had been praying a lot for me. So I called her
and told her the story. When she found out the verse that God had given me, she
was like, “Isaiah 40:31?!? And the mascot is an EAGLE??” She told me that I had
DEFINITELY made the right decision, and I had NO idea how much that was from God.
She told my Mom to call her back later, and when she did, my mom told her that she
had to share with me what Aunt Lois had told her. Apparently, about a year ago she
had bought some material to make me a quilt for a graduation present. She said that
ALL along she had been planning to make the quilt design an eagle flying over a
lake… and she was going to put the verse Isaiah 40:31 at the bottom!! At this point,
I was completely speechless… All I could say was, “WOW!” I knew that I had heard
from God beyond a shadow of a doubt, and I knew that going to JBU was completely
in his will! I know that turning down a full scholarship and the chance to go to
school with some of my best friends will be hard, but I know that God wants me at
JBU, for whatever reason he may have in storecross-referenced to Hebrews 12:1-3
– my favorite Bible verse, AND the one that I had chosen.
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Robin’s Version
The day we we drove to the campuses it was raining and Josiah was
driving. The entire time we drove around U of A he was very serious and somber,
hardly talked. That is very unlike Josiah. I could almost read his thoughts that
he could make it work because he had a full scholarship at U of A. But I could tell
there was no excitement or ownership, he was just looking. Neither of us talked
much, but just drove and prayed silently. We started driving over to JBU and as
we hit Tonitown (about halfway) Josiah broke into a song, like he used to do in
the car as a little boy. The kind you feel when you are full of excitement. We got
to the campus and he walked all around with joy and even looked at some old year
books from the 80’s. It seemed like he was almost picturing himself in there some
day. Driving home, we discussed how the 2 most important elements of God’s leading
are His peace in a matter, and a word from His word. Circumstances are last because
they should line up with the first two. He had a peace, but not a word from the
word. Different people told Josiah that he couldn’t turn down such a opportunity
(at U of A), that he was the one that had to choose, that he was going to feel more
comfortable at a Christian college rather than a non-Christian one but maybe God
wanted him at a non-Christian college.. This caused confusion, but made him more
convinced he needed to press in and find out what was the will of the Lord for this
situation. God’s word is very clear that he will lead us in the way we should go
and if we want to know His will, he will direct our steps. I was praying that God
would give Josiah a passage or many verses to confirm his will, not just one verse,
so when David told me that the Lord had given Josiah a scripture I went to my Bible
and read it. I decided to read the entire passage and felt just like Josiah, that
God had described what he had been through! I will never forget the day I picked
him up from school and asked him to share how God gave him the verse. Just as we
finished we pulled into our yard and I stopped the car and handed him my Bible and
said, “Josiah you have to read this entire passage from the beginning.” As he sat
in the car and read it out loud, his eyes teared up and he said, “Mom, I asked God
for one verse, and he gave me an entire passage!!” He just started thanking the
Lord right there. God is so good! He wanted to call his JBU counselor and accept
the scholarship offer immediately as well as decline the U of A offer. When he pushed
that delete button for U of A, I felt a peace and at the same time like I was back
on that tight rope, because now we had to once again trust God to take care of the
rest of what is needed, which is no small amount. Who could do better than the one
whose name is Faithful and True? Then he called his Aunt Lois (a long time friend
who has been an Aunt to our kids) to tell her. He got off the phone and she told
me that she had been making the quilt as a surprise for him and ordered the material
a year ago, and that she had already chosen Isa. 40:31 as the verse she would embroider
on the quilt. When I heard that I felt like it was just what I needed to know that
God was in this and would come through. |
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Lois's Version
It was actually closer to two years ago that I decided to make quilts
for Josiah and the rest of the children. I began thinking about ideas for the theme
of the various quilts, then one day I saw a fabric panel that had a picture of an
eagle soaring over a mountain lake, and felt like God was telling that I should
use it with Isaiah 40:31 for Josiah's quilt. I bought the panel and put it aside
and didn't think too much more about it until I realized how quickly time was going
by and that Josiah would be graduating soon! I took out the panel and started working
out the design for the quilt. I got his graduation announcement out and decided
I should incorporate the pictures from it in the quilt. It wasn't until I was working
on the positioning of the pictures with the quilt that I saw God's hand even in
Josiah's selection of those pictures. If you haven't seen them they are on the website,
in one of them Josiah is sitting on a railroad track playing his guitar and in the
other he is walking away from you down the tracks. As I positioned the pictures
with Isaiah 40:31 . I realized they were perfect for the scripture: "Those that
wait upon the Lord (there's Josiah, strumming his guitar and waiting for God to
speak to him) shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings as eagles,
they shall walk and not faint (and there's Josiah walking away into the next phase
of his life)." I feel as if this is a perfect depiction of 'Josiah's Journey to
JBU'...he waited to make his decision until he heard from the Lord, now he is going
to soar as an eagle for the next four years, then he will walk out into the future
that God has planned for him.
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Isaiah
40:31 |
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But those expecting Yahuwah (Jehovah) pass to power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on
and do not faint!1898 Young’s Literal Translation
But the ones waiting for Jehovah shall renew power; they shall go up with wings as the eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint!
Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
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