Hey Everyone,
I'm sorry it's been such a long time since my last update. Things have been changing like crazy.
Last time I posted I had said that I will be doing the School of Worship in Nashville. In making that decision I was still not 100% sold on that being the final location of me this summer. Something in me felt some reservations, so I simply asked God to please let it fail if it wasn't the right thing for me to be doing. Sure enough, he answered!
Opportunities opened up here in San Jose, and God did an awesome job at not providing funds for the trip (i say that in all seriousness.) and really gave me confirmation through that. At first I was a little disappointed, but then I realized how crazy it is that absolutely no support came in for this. It was such an answer to prayer because it gave me complete confirmation on this.
So for now, I will be in San Jose serving here. I'm going back to school at West Valley in the fall and am looking to get a job in the mean time. Who knows what the future holds for me in crazy adventures around the world, but for now I know that it's time for me to be in the Bay Area spreading the love of Jesus here!
Thank you all for your prayers and support. I would love to keep you updated on what God's doing here!
Josh
Friday, May 25, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
(Official) Support Letter
I sent out a post that was pretty similar to this already, but this is the touched up one with a little bit more information. Sorry if you've already received this, trying to make sure I get it around to everybody! Plus, I'm extremely excited to share this with anyone and everyone that will read it! God is doing some crazy awesome things!
Okay...down to business!
Dear Friends and Family,
I am writing to you to tell you about an amazing
opportunity that I have been presented with! But before I do, I would like to
thank you for your prayers and support throughout my adventures in Kona and
South Sudan. When I began that journey, I had no idea what was about to be done
in and through me. God did some amazing work over the last 6 months. I saw Him
do things that I have never seen before. I made some new friends, and had my
world completely turned upside down and flipped back upright. God really
changed my life, and I am so excited to share with you what’s next for me.
When I first got back from Kona I said that
there were a million and a half opportunities available but I didn't know which
one to do. One of those opportunities was to go out to Nashville and do YWAM's
School of Worship. It's an opportunity that hasn't left my mind since Kona
(before outreach). It's something that's kept coming back up even through all
of the wrestling and decision making. I
have prayed about it and that is what I am going to do in this next season of
life!
I would love to go into some detail
to explain what SOW (School of Worship, so much easier to type than the whole
name) is.
Although YWAM is a mission’s
organization, it also doubles as a university. University of the Nations
provides courses in many subjects. Out in Kona there's a counseling degree, the
school of worship, bible degrees, etc. SOW is the music portion. It isn't a
program where I am a declared music major; it is more training in the specific
area. SOW is geared towards worship and encountering the Lord through worship.
Via the SOW page: (More information
at: http://ywamnashville.org/courses/sow)
"The School of Worship is a 5
month, encounter-driven training course that is set on knowing the Spirit of
Truth so that we can worship Him in spirit and truth. As we come to encounter
Him in a real and intimate way, both corporately and individually, we behold
His glory (his ultimate beauty and magnificence) and therefore are transformed
from one glorious state to another. We also learn from the biblical history of
worship to get the foundations and then work with the Lord for new revelation
on how to use those foundations in today's church, and world."
Some of the topics that we cover are:
-Cultivating Intimacy with God
-The Work of Holy Spirit in Worship
-Pursuing Personal Freedom
-Character Development of a Worshipper
-Understanding the Biblical & Historical Context &
Basis of Worship
-The Marriage of Worship and Intercession
-The Prophetic Nature and Role of the Worship Ministry
-Musicianship and Song-writing
-Developing Leadership & Team Dynamics
-The Grace of Worship in Spiritual Warfare
-The Role of Worship in Reaching the Nations
-The Role of the Supernatural in Worship
SOW runs a lot like the DTS that I
just went through. I will head out to Nashville in June for about 12 weeks and
then go on outreach for 8 weeks to return in November. The outreach location is
not final yet, but I will update when that comes out! I'm sure it's going to be
Legend---wait for it---DAIRY!
This is the fun part. I love
fundraising. The cost of this school is quite a bit less than my DTS was. The
cost of SOW is $2,990 for the lecture phase and the cost of outreach is to be
announced when the location is determined. That is quite a bit less!
I would like to invite you to support
me in this adventure. The Lord did amazing things over the past 6 months and I
am really excited to see what God is going to do next.
My first request is that you would
please keep me in your prayers. God does amazing things when we talk to him, so
if you could keep me and this adventure in your prayers it would mean so much
to me!
My second request is that you would
prayerfully consider supporting me financially! It has meant so much to me to
have all of your support thus far and I hope you will consider continuing to
support me! I have made it extremely simple to donate this time. On my blog (see
below) there is a spiffy little "donate" button on the right side. If
you would like to support me financially you can do so there! Please put
"SOW" as a memo. If you would like to mail a check, that is fine as
well! Send me an email to get my address! Unfortunately, It Is not tax deductible.
God is going to do crazy amazing
things over this next chapter of my life. I am extremely excited to see what
goes down. I would love it if you would partner with me in this! If you have
any questions please don't hesitate to contact me! You can email me, facebook
me, or we can even skype! I'd love to share more of what's on my heart with
this! Also, you can join a new facebook group I made! I will be doing quick
little updates on it while still sending out the big ones on my blog. The group
can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/110743549060231/
So much love for all of you! More
updates to come!
Josh
Email: Josh.m.morrison.91@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Remember When I Said I Was Loosely Holding Onto My Plans? ...Yeah, Things Change.
So the last time that I sent out a real update I said I was picking something and holding onto it loosely for now. Well, yeah, sometimes plans like to change, which makes life way more exciting!
When I first got back from Kona I said that there were a million and a half opportunities and I didn't know which one to do. One of those opportunities was to go out to Nashville and do YWAM's School of Worship. It's an opportunity that hasn't left my mind since Kona (before outreach). It's something that's kept coming back up even through all of the wrestling and decision making, and I think that is what I am going to do in this next season of life!
I would love to go into some detail to explain what SOW (School of Worship, so much easier to type than the whole name) is. So here ya go!
Although YWAM is a missions organization, it also doubles as a university. University of the Nations provides courses in many subjects. Out in Kona there's a counseling degree, the school of worship, bible degrees, etc. SOW is the music portion. It isn't a program where I am a declared music major, it is more training in the specific area. SOW is geared towards worship and encountering the Lord through worship.
Via the SOW page: (More information at: SOW)
This is the fun part. I love fundraising.
The cost of this school is quite a bit less than my DTS was. If you recall, my DTS cost $4,000 for the lecture phase (first 3 months) and then another $6,000(ish) for the outreach (second 3 months).
The cost of SOW is $2,990 for the lecture phase and the cost of outreach is to be announced when the location is determined. That is quite a bit less!
I would like to invite you to support me in this adventure. The Lord did amazing things over the past 6 months and I am really excited to see what God is going to do next.
My first request is that you would please keep me in your prayers. God does amazing things when we talk to him, so if you could keep me and this adventure in your prayers it would mean so much to me!
My second request is that you would prayerfully consider supporting me financially! It has meant so much to me to have all of your support thus far and I hope you will consider continuing to support me! I have made it extremely simple to donate this time (No envelopes, no checks, nothing!). On my blog there is a spiffy little "donate" button on the right side. If you would like to support me financially you can do so there! Please put "SOW" as a memo. Unfortunately, I don't think that they are tax deductable. I am extremely sorry, I will look into it to confirm that they're not but I'm pretty sure they're not.
God's going to do crazy amazing things over this next chapter of my life. I am extremely excited to see what goes down. I would love it if you would partner with me in this!
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me! You can email me, facebook me, or we can even skype! I'd love to share more of what's on my heart with this! Also, you can join a spiffy new facebook group I made! I will be doing quick little updates on it while still sending out the big ones on here. The group can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/110743549060231/
So much love for all of you! More updates to come!
Josh
When I first got back from Kona I said that there were a million and a half opportunities and I didn't know which one to do. One of those opportunities was to go out to Nashville and do YWAM's School of Worship. It's an opportunity that hasn't left my mind since Kona (before outreach). It's something that's kept coming back up even through all of the wrestling and decision making, and I think that is what I am going to do in this next season of life!
I would love to go into some detail to explain what SOW (School of Worship, so much easier to type than the whole name) is. So here ya go!
Although YWAM is a missions organization, it also doubles as a university. University of the Nations provides courses in many subjects. Out in Kona there's a counseling degree, the school of worship, bible degrees, etc. SOW is the music portion. It isn't a program where I am a declared music major, it is more training in the specific area. SOW is geared towards worship and encountering the Lord through worship.
Via the SOW page: (More information at: SOW)
"The School of Worship is a 5 month, encounter-driven training course that is set on knowing the Spirit of Truth so that we can worship Him in spirit and truth. As we come to encounter Him in a real and intimate way, both corporately and individually, we behold His glory (his ultimate beauty and magnificence) and therefore are transformed from one glorious state to another. We also learn from the biblical history of worship to get the foundations and then work with the Lord for new revelation on how to use those foundations in today's church, and world."Some of the topics that we cover are:
SOW runs a lot like the DTS that I just went through. I will head out to Nashville in June for about 12 weeks and then go on outreach for 8 weeks to return in November. The outreach location is not final yet, but I will update when that comes out! I'm sure it's going to be Legend---wait for it---DAIRY!
- Cultivating Intimacy with God
- The Work of Holy Spirit in Worship
- Pursuing Personal Freedom
- Character Development of a Worshipper
- Understanding the Biblical & Historical Context & Basis of Worship
- The Marriage of Worship and Intercession
- The Prophetic Nature and Role of the Worship Ministry
- Musicianship and Song-writing
- Developing Leadership & Team Dynamics
- The Grace of Worship in Spiritual Warfare
- The Role of Worship in Reaching the Nations
- The Role of the Supernatural in Worship
This is the fun part. I love fundraising.
The cost of this school is quite a bit less than my DTS was. If you recall, my DTS cost $4,000 for the lecture phase (first 3 months) and then another $6,000(ish) for the outreach (second 3 months).
The cost of SOW is $2,990 for the lecture phase and the cost of outreach is to be announced when the location is determined. That is quite a bit less!
I would like to invite you to support me in this adventure. The Lord did amazing things over the past 6 months and I am really excited to see what God is going to do next.
My first request is that you would please keep me in your prayers. God does amazing things when we talk to him, so if you could keep me and this adventure in your prayers it would mean so much to me!
My second request is that you would prayerfully consider supporting me financially! It has meant so much to me to have all of your support thus far and I hope you will consider continuing to support me! I have made it extremely simple to donate this time (No envelopes, no checks, nothing!). On my blog there is a spiffy little "donate" button on the right side. If you would like to support me financially you can do so there! Please put "SOW" as a memo. Unfortunately, I don't think that they are tax deductable. I am extremely sorry, I will look into it to confirm that they're not but I'm pretty sure they're not.
God's going to do crazy amazing things over this next chapter of my life. I am extremely excited to see what goes down. I would love it if you would partner with me in this!
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me! You can email me, facebook me, or we can even skype! I'd love to share more of what's on my heart with this! Also, you can join a spiffy new facebook group I made! I will be doing quick little updates on it while still sending out the big ones on here. The group can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/110743549060231/
So much love for all of you! More updates to come!
Josh
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Why?
So pretty much, Jesus woke me up in the middle of the night tonight with some melodies on my mind. I tried to go back to sleep for about 45 minutes. No luck. So this is what came out.
Before I share the lyrics (they're pretty raw and not sugar coated) I want to give a little backstory on why this is on my heart. So here goes...
On Friday we were given the privilege of leading worship for an Easter service with one of the local Christian schools. We chose to sing the song "in Christ alone." god ruined me with that song. He smacked me in the face with the question "do you actually know what you're singing?"
Think about it.
"in CHRIST alone...my hope is found."
First off..how many times does it go more like this in my life...
"in Christ (most of the time)...my hope is found."
Or
"in Christ (sometimes)...my hope is found."
Or take this line:
"what heights of love, what depths of peace. When fears are stilled, when strivings cease."
Has anyone ever actually read that line? It says "when STRIVINGS CEASE."
Then why does it seem like our worship is full of striving? Like its a production? Like if we can only nail that solo, or get those perfect harmonies, or like if we get the perfect sound mix then it will somehow be 'good worship.'
Or from another song:
We Sang the song "amazing love." I dont know how well known it is but the chorus goes like this:
"amazing love, how can it be?
That you my king would die for me.
Amazing love, I know it's true.
And it's my joy to honor you.
In all I do, I honor you."
Why is that a normal worship song? Why? Seriously...why? Think about what the song is saying.
Its asking how can it be that Jesus, our KING, died for us. It's claiming to be amazing. It's declaring that it's our joy to honor him in everything we do. How many of us actually believe that? How many of us claim that it's hard to love people? How many of us say that at times we don't feel like following Jesus because it's easier to do something else? But I thought it was our honor to follow him? That's what we just sang in the song at least...
No, I'm not questioning my faith. No, I'm not questioning why I worship Jesus. This song is simply getting raw and asking why we don't worship Jesus.
This isn't a call to guilt, it's a cry for authenticity...both from my heart as well as my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Well, that got a lot longer than I originally planned...so here it is:
Title: why?
Verse 1:
Why do I sing
Why do i worship
Why do I call out
Things I don't mean
What do I mean?
Why do I close my eyes
Why do I kneel down
Why do I cry
Why
Oh why?
chorus:
I'm tired of all these empty words.
Hallow surrender to your will
I open my mouth and speak these lies.
Like my life is yours.
Or
I've given it up it's not for me.
How can I stand here and simply sing
It's yours.
Is it yours?
Verse 2:
Why do I come?
Why do I lift up my hands
And pretend to honor
You god?
Are you God?
Why do I vow
To serve you or
Why do I bow
To pretend that you're worthy
Of something that you're oh so worthy of?
chorus 2:
A life lived for you that's not my own.
A heart given up for you to show
Your love through
Your life through
and
I've given it up, my everything
I'll give anything to glorify your name
Because you deserve it
Oh you so deserve it.
Still finishing it. That's just a heart piece from me...I don't want it to come off as anything more than a cry of my heart simply asking why. Absolutely no judgement, because it's me asking myself out loud more than anything.
Before I share the lyrics (they're pretty raw and not sugar coated) I want to give a little backstory on why this is on my heart. So here goes...
On Friday we were given the privilege of leading worship for an Easter service with one of the local Christian schools. We chose to sing the song "in Christ alone." god ruined me with that song. He smacked me in the face with the question "do you actually know what you're singing?"
Think about it.
"in CHRIST alone...my hope is found."
First off..how many times does it go more like this in my life...
"in Christ (most of the time)...my hope is found."
Or
"in Christ (sometimes)...my hope is found."
Or take this line:
"what heights of love, what depths of peace. When fears are stilled, when strivings cease."
Has anyone ever actually read that line? It says "when STRIVINGS CEASE."
Then why does it seem like our worship is full of striving? Like its a production? Like if we can only nail that solo, or get those perfect harmonies, or like if we get the perfect sound mix then it will somehow be 'good worship.'
Or from another song:
We Sang the song "amazing love." I dont know how well known it is but the chorus goes like this:
"amazing love, how can it be?
That you my king would die for me.
Amazing love, I know it's true.
And it's my joy to honor you.
In all I do, I honor you."
Why is that a normal worship song? Why? Seriously...why? Think about what the song is saying.
Its asking how can it be that Jesus, our KING, died for us. It's claiming to be amazing. It's declaring that it's our joy to honor him in everything we do. How many of us actually believe that? How many of us claim that it's hard to love people? How many of us say that at times we don't feel like following Jesus because it's easier to do something else? But I thought it was our honor to follow him? That's what we just sang in the song at least...
No, I'm not questioning my faith. No, I'm not questioning why I worship Jesus. This song is simply getting raw and asking why we don't worship Jesus.
This isn't a call to guilt, it's a cry for authenticity...both from my heart as well as my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Well, that got a lot longer than I originally planned...so here it is:
Title: why?
Verse 1:
Why do I sing
Why do i worship
Why do I call out
Things I don't mean
What do I mean?
Why do I close my eyes
Why do I kneel down
Why do I cry
Why
Oh why?
chorus:
I'm tired of all these empty words.
Hallow surrender to your will
I open my mouth and speak these lies.
Like my life is yours.
Or
I've given it up it's not for me.
How can I stand here and simply sing
It's yours.
Is it yours?
Verse 2:
Why do I come?
Why do I lift up my hands
And pretend to honor
You god?
Are you God?
Why do I vow
To serve you or
Why do I bow
To pretend that you're worthy
Of something that you're oh so worthy of?
chorus 2:
A life lived for you that's not my own.
A heart given up for you to show
Your love through
Your life through
and
I've given it up, my everything
I'll give anything to glorify your name
Because you deserve it
Oh you so deserve it.
Still finishing it. That's just a heart piece from me...I don't want it to come off as anything more than a cry of my heart simply asking why. Absolutely no judgement, because it's me asking myself out loud more than anything.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Recap/Story Time From Outreach
Hello E'ryone!
Now that I've been back for a few days and have started to adjust a bit, I wanted to send out an update telling about some of the amazing things that happened while we were in South Sudan. While we were there I had Very limited internet access, and when I was able to get on I had to pay for it so that made it hard to tell some of the amazing ways that God moved. I did mention some of them, but here are more details! So here ya go!
1. Crazy favor on outreach:
-It was insane the amount of favor we were shown. When we first arrived at the airport, we were somehow able to check more bags than we should have been allowed for free. We were also able to check overweight bags with no additional cost. This not only worked on American Airlines to get us to London, but it also worked on Kenya Airways going from London to Juba. It was crazy. There was no way we should have been allowed that, yet we were shown crazy favor.
-When we got to South Sudan, we were picked up by a range rover-like vehicle and rode for 4 1/2 hours from Juba to Yei. Along the way, we only had one bag fall off of the top, which was a tent. We noticed it in time and were able to retrieve it. Where the favor comes in, is that it got dark with about an hour and a half left in our drive. From everything we were told; you don't drive at night in S. Sudan. Besides that, we were going almost 50 mph on a road that you probably should drive no more than 20-25mph on. Bumps galore, yet somehow no other bags fell off of the top. Nothing. When we got to Yei and "untied" our bags from the top, there was no way that they should have stayed on. Super sketchy.
-The Lord totally hooked us up with free rides on a helicopter with the UN. We really learned that you never know what will happen if you simply ask a question. Crazy favor in getting hooked up with the ride because that meant that we didn't have to do that long drive again, and we didn't have to pay for it either. Such a blessing.
2. God really taught us what He will do if we are simply obedient:
-There were several times where big things happened simply because of a simply act of obedience. There was one day where Luke and I were walking down the street and we felt like we should pray for a guy with a limp. We prayed that he would be healed and it totally changed his attitude knowing that someone cared about him and wanted to see him well instead of just looking the other way. That led to someone else coming up and asking us to pray for him and his leg. We did so and again, it seemed like it made a difference in his day. We then had another man run up to us (we hadn't taken 5 steps yet) and ask us to pray for his stomach ulcers. After we prayed for him he said it was better! We thought it was cool, but were a little skeptical. We ran into him a week later and he was freaking out because he still had no pain in his stomach! It was something that he had been living with for quite some time. He was seriously healed of it. His life was seriously completely changed because of a simple prompting from the Lord and He completely healed him! It wasn't anything of our power, it wasn't anything to give us credit, it was simply Him doing something huge in someone's life. That's the kind of God he is. He cares about what we're going through, and wants to see us through it. Whatever way that means, He cares.
-There were several times throughout outreach that one of us would feel that little nudge to go talk to someone. This is incredibly scary almost every time you do it. As soon as that nudge is felt there are a million and one reasons that come to mind on why it probably isn't from God and why you shouldn't have to do it. Usually, those are a million and one reasons why it is from Him. The lives that were changed from this are insane. Alcoholics gave up drinking. There was someone who, after we were done talking with him, told us he was about to go do "something very bad that he would probably regret" completely changed. So crazy. Simple, affectionate based obedience to the Lord has more power than is given credit to it. What does that look like back home? I'm no expert, but I'd say simply listening to that little nudge that tells me to smile at that stranger, or pay for that random person's lunch, or ask that friend how they are truly doing, not just surface level doing. Showing people that they matter and they are worth my time is one of the most powerful tools that I can ever use to love on people.
-There were three of us on the team that had gone through the Justice Water training back in Kona. We really felt it on our hearts to bless the base with a water catchment tank. We were able to teach how to do it, and we even made two tanks! They are about 3000 Liter tanks that will collect rain water so that there is perfectly clean drinking water through the rainy season and part of the dry season!
3. Insane, Crazy, Awesome "important" people met on outreach:
-I believe it was the first weekend we were there (a lot of them run together when I think back to them) we went to church. It was ridiculously long. Probably about 4 hours or so. Crazy. Afterwards we were told that we were going to go do a house visit to someone and meet him. We were excited, very excited. The next thing we know we are walking through a little village of mud huts and we come up on this huge fence and a big house. This house was a house much like the ones we have in America. They open the gate and we meet several people. Turns out that we were sitting in the house of a General from the South Sudanese army. Insane. We got to sit with him for quite a while enjoying drinks and just hearing what he had to say on several things. Crazy. A couple on our team got words for him from the Lord and we were able to love on him. So crazy.
-Speaker of the House of parliament. Crazy. We were doing a "youth camp" (In S. Sudan 'youth' means anyone age 45 and under...) in Panyana. One day, while the 3 guys were playing soccer with the "youth" one of the girls came up and told us we had to go because there was a government official there. We got back to the village, disgusting from playing barefoot on a dirt field, and found out we were meeting with the Speaker of the House. He was from that area, so he was back home for a visit and we got to sit and talk with him and enjoy drinks with him too! It was crazy because it wasn't an 'official' meeting with an official, so it wasn't all business talk. We were in his home and able to talk with him about a ton of stuff and just get to know him, not his title. So good!
-World Vision. There was one day where Luke, Melodie and I felt like we were supposed to go to the world vision compound and pray for people. We rolled up to the security gate and told the security guard that exact thing. Some how, by the grace of God, he let us through. There's no way he should have done that. 3 kids rolled up to the booth and said that the Lord told us to go there so he should let us in, then he did! Crazy! We ended up meeting the coordinator of water and malaria for world vision South Sudan. We were able to teach him the water training that we had done in Kona and he said he was going to use it because it is so simple and so inexpensive! We also were able to meet the Christian Commitment Coordinator for World Vision South Sudan. It was so insane how that simple act of obedience in stepping out to do something crazy produced so much fruit. God is so good!
-Kathy. She started an organization called CCC (Confident Children out of Conflict) which goes into the slums and takes girls that have been physically/sexually/emotionally/any other kind of abused and brings them up in a new environment. Most of these girls were working as prostitutes (even as pre-teens) or in brothels. Kathy would bring them to the compound and teach them how to live life as girls, not as objects. Since they were in this disgusting trade from a very young age, it's all that they know. They think that all they are worth is what men want to do to them. Kathy teaches them their value and how to be people. It is an absolutely amazing organization. What she is doing to restore the lives of these girls is absolutely amazing. I fell in love with the kids there. They would all call the girls "auntie" and the guys "uncle." I feel like I left a bit of my heart there with them in S. Sudan. Amazing girls that are seriously going to grow up and be the voice of change for the nation.
-Other people we met:
---The Commissioner of Morobo County (head of a county. almost equivalent to a governor here in the states.)
---Minister of Water for the South Sudan Government
---Arch Decon of the Anglican church in the Morobo County
4. Some fun/crazy/awesome stories/memories/quotes:
It wouldn't be a complete recap if I didn't mention some of the craziness that happened there!
-I love this family. Emannuel, Sharon, Samson, Jacob, Santos, and Agnes were seriously such a huge blessing on our lives. They are one of the families that lives and works on the YWAM compound in Yei. They welcomed us in and treated us like family as well. Such a blessing to get to know them and love on their kids. They are seriously an amazing family!
-There was one day where I was taking a break and editing some pictures back on the YWAM base in Yei. I was sitting with one of the older boys (about 13 years old) and the little kids were messing with me. I was starting to get annoyed a little bit because I was exhausted and just needed a break. Samuel (the 13 year old) yelled something in arabic and the kids all ran out screaming. I asked him what he said and he told me that they tell the little kids that white people will eat them if they mess with them. It's like a new version of the boogey man. It was hilarious! Poor kids thought I was going to eat them!
-Melodie (one of the girls on my team) and I seemed to share just about every single awkward experience that could ever happen. Anything that could happen, did happen. Bathroom stories, awkward conversation stories, etc. We experienced it all. Oh man, how close you get as a team when you live together for 3 months.
-There used to be a cat that was on base. I use the term "used" for a reason. One day, it went missing. We were wondering what happened to it so we asked our translator. He denied knowing anything about it. We then asked him "Santos, did you kill the cat?!" He said "No, I did not kill the cat..." We then asked him if someone else killed the cat. He said "I cannot answer these difficult questions." We all laughed, then asked him if we ate the cat. He answered "You Americans with your tricky questions. I cannot answer them!" The best part about it is that he spoke perfect English, so he understood exactly what we were saying. He was just messing with us because Tara (another one of the girls on our team) is obsessed with cats. It was hilarious.
-Driving to church one day, we passed a run down shack that was a shop. On the front it had written "Lord, Bless my enemies before you bless me." Wow. What a concept. That absolutely rocked me when I read it and has stuck with me ever since. What if I applied that mindset to everything I do? What if that was my outlook on life? So crazy. So counter cultural. Especially to see it in a nation that was super war torn. Crazy. Absolutely rocked me.
-The stars above South Sudan are absolutely amazing. There are very little city lights, so you can see everything. As you can see above, it is beautiful...
Obviously, there are so many more stories of things that happened. This would be the longest post ever if I were to share all of them. I'm working on getting more stories out there. I'm still working on processing all of it and sharing the memories. Some of them are extremely hard to share. I saw some stuff there that are hard to cope with, but I know that with time I will be able to talk about all of them. Since I got home, I'm realizing how much I fell in love with South Sudan. One day I will be back there. I absolutely love it and I love the people there.
All of these memories are strait up to show how amazing God is. None of them would have happened if it wasn't for him. He actually cares about me and my team. He actually cares about the people of South Sudan. He actually cares about each and every one of you that are reading this right now. That's the kind of God he is, and it blows my mind to think about that.
Until next time,
Salaam (peace)
Now that I've been back for a few days and have started to adjust a bit, I wanted to send out an update telling about some of the amazing things that happened while we were in South Sudan. While we were there I had Very limited internet access, and when I was able to get on I had to pay for it so that made it hard to tell some of the amazing ways that God moved. I did mention some of them, but here are more details! So here ya go!
 |
| My Family/Glory Team! |
1. Crazy favor on outreach:
-It was insane the amount of favor we were shown. When we first arrived at the airport, we were somehow able to check more bags than we should have been allowed for free. We were also able to check overweight bags with no additional cost. This not only worked on American Airlines to get us to London, but it also worked on Kenya Airways going from London to Juba. It was crazy. There was no way we should have been allowed that, yet we were shown crazy favor.
-When we got to South Sudan, we were picked up by a range rover-like vehicle and rode for 4 1/2 hours from Juba to Yei. Along the way, we only had one bag fall off of the top, which was a tent. We noticed it in time and were able to retrieve it. Where the favor comes in, is that it got dark with about an hour and a half left in our drive. From everything we were told; you don't drive at night in S. Sudan. Besides that, we were going almost 50 mph on a road that you probably should drive no more than 20-25mph on. Bumps galore, yet somehow no other bags fell off of the top. Nothing. When we got to Yei and "untied" our bags from the top, there was no way that they should have stayed on. Super sketchy.
-The Lord totally hooked us up with free rides on a helicopter with the UN. We really learned that you never know what will happen if you simply ask a question. Crazy favor in getting hooked up with the ride because that meant that we didn't have to do that long drive again, and we didn't have to pay for it either. Such a blessing.
2. God really taught us what He will do if we are simply obedient:
-There were several times where big things happened simply because of a simply act of obedience. There was one day where Luke and I were walking down the street and we felt like we should pray for a guy with a limp. We prayed that he would be healed and it totally changed his attitude knowing that someone cared about him and wanted to see him well instead of just looking the other way. That led to someone else coming up and asking us to pray for him and his leg. We did so and again, it seemed like it made a difference in his day. We then had another man run up to us (we hadn't taken 5 steps yet) and ask us to pray for his stomach ulcers. After we prayed for him he said it was better! We thought it was cool, but were a little skeptical. We ran into him a week later and he was freaking out because he still had no pain in his stomach! It was something that he had been living with for quite some time. He was seriously healed of it. His life was seriously completely changed because of a simple prompting from the Lord and He completely healed him! It wasn't anything of our power, it wasn't anything to give us credit, it was simply Him doing something huge in someone's life. That's the kind of God he is. He cares about what we're going through, and wants to see us through it. Whatever way that means, He cares.
-There were several times throughout outreach that one of us would feel that little nudge to go talk to someone. This is incredibly scary almost every time you do it. As soon as that nudge is felt there are a million and one reasons that come to mind on why it probably isn't from God and why you shouldn't have to do it. Usually, those are a million and one reasons why it is from Him. The lives that were changed from this are insane. Alcoholics gave up drinking. There was someone who, after we were done talking with him, told us he was about to go do "something very bad that he would probably regret" completely changed. So crazy. Simple, affectionate based obedience to the Lord has more power than is given credit to it. What does that look like back home? I'm no expert, but I'd say simply listening to that little nudge that tells me to smile at that stranger, or pay for that random person's lunch, or ask that friend how they are truly doing, not just surface level doing. Showing people that they matter and they are worth my time is one of the most powerful tools that I can ever use to love on people.
-There were three of us on the team that had gone through the Justice Water training back in Kona. We really felt it on our hearts to bless the base with a water catchment tank. We were able to teach how to do it, and we even made two tanks! They are about 3000 Liter tanks that will collect rain water so that there is perfectly clean drinking water through the rainy season and part of the dry season! 3. Insane, Crazy, Awesome "important" people met on outreach:
-I believe it was the first weekend we were there (a lot of them run together when I think back to them) we went to church. It was ridiculously long. Probably about 4 hours or so. Crazy. Afterwards we were told that we were going to go do a house visit to someone and meet him. We were excited, very excited. The next thing we know we are walking through a little village of mud huts and we come up on this huge fence and a big house. This house was a house much like the ones we have in America. They open the gate and we meet several people. Turns out that we were sitting in the house of a General from the South Sudanese army. Insane. We got to sit with him for quite a while enjoying drinks and just hearing what he had to say on several things. Crazy. A couple on our team got words for him from the Lord and we were able to love on him. So crazy.
-Speaker of the House of parliament. Crazy. We were doing a "youth camp" (In S. Sudan 'youth' means anyone age 45 and under...) in Panyana. One day, while the 3 guys were playing soccer with the "youth" one of the girls came up and told us we had to go because there was a government official there. We got back to the village, disgusting from playing barefoot on a dirt field, and found out we were meeting with the Speaker of the House. He was from that area, so he was back home for a visit and we got to sit and talk with him and enjoy drinks with him too! It was crazy because it wasn't an 'official' meeting with an official, so it wasn't all business talk. We were in his home and able to talk with him about a ton of stuff and just get to know him, not his title. So good!
-World Vision. There was one day where Luke, Melodie and I felt like we were supposed to go to the world vision compound and pray for people. We rolled up to the security gate and told the security guard that exact thing. Some how, by the grace of God, he let us through. There's no way he should have done that. 3 kids rolled up to the booth and said that the Lord told us to go there so he should let us in, then he did! Crazy! We ended up meeting the coordinator of water and malaria for world vision South Sudan. We were able to teach him the water training that we had done in Kona and he said he was going to use it because it is so simple and so inexpensive! We also were able to meet the Christian Commitment Coordinator for World Vision South Sudan. It was so insane how that simple act of obedience in stepping out to do something crazy produced so much fruit. God is so good!
-Kathy. She started an organization called CCC (Confident Children out of Conflict) which goes into the slums and takes girls that have been physically/sexually/emotionally/any other kind of abused and brings them up in a new environment. Most of these girls were working as prostitutes (even as pre-teens) or in brothels. Kathy would bring them to the compound and teach them how to live life as girls, not as objects. Since they were in this disgusting trade from a very young age, it's all that they know. They think that all they are worth is what men want to do to them. Kathy teaches them their value and how to be people. It is an absolutely amazing organization. What she is doing to restore the lives of these girls is absolutely amazing. I fell in love with the kids there. They would all call the girls "auntie" and the guys "uncle." I feel like I left a bit of my heart there with them in S. Sudan. Amazing girls that are seriously going to grow up and be the voice of change for the nation.
-Other people we met:
---The Commissioner of Morobo County (head of a county. almost equivalent to a governor here in the states.)
---Minister of Water for the South Sudan Government
---Arch Decon of the Anglican church in the Morobo County
4. Some fun/crazy/awesome stories/memories/quotes:
It wouldn't be a complete recap if I didn't mention some of the craziness that happened there!
 | |||
| (Left to Right) Emannuel, Sharon, Samson. |
-There was one day where I was taking a break and editing some pictures back on the YWAM base in Yei. I was sitting with one of the older boys (about 13 years old) and the little kids were messing with me. I was starting to get annoyed a little bit because I was exhausted and just needed a break. Samuel (the 13 year old) yelled something in arabic and the kids all ran out screaming. I asked him what he said and he told me that they tell the little kids that white people will eat them if they mess with them. It's like a new version of the boogey man. It was hilarious! Poor kids thought I was going to eat them!-Melodie (one of the girls on my team) and I seemed to share just about every single awkward experience that could ever happen. Anything that could happen, did happen. Bathroom stories, awkward conversation stories, etc. We experienced it all. Oh man, how close you get as a team when you live together for 3 months.
-There used to be a cat that was on base. I use the term "used" for a reason. One day, it went missing. We were wondering what happened to it so we asked our translator. He denied knowing anything about it. We then asked him "Santos, did you kill the cat?!" He said "No, I did not kill the cat..." We then asked him if someone else killed the cat. He said "I cannot answer these difficult questions." We all laughed, then asked him if we ate the cat. He answered "You Americans with your tricky questions. I cannot answer them!" The best part about it is that he spoke perfect English, so he understood exactly what we were saying. He was just messing with us because Tara (another one of the girls on our team) is obsessed with cats. It was hilarious.
-Driving to church one day, we passed a run down shack that was a shop. On the front it had written "Lord, Bless my enemies before you bless me." Wow. What a concept. That absolutely rocked me when I read it and has stuck with me ever since. What if I applied that mindset to everything I do? What if that was my outlook on life? So crazy. So counter cultural. Especially to see it in a nation that was super war torn. Crazy. Absolutely rocked me.
-The stars above South Sudan are absolutely amazing. There are very little city lights, so you can see everything. As you can see above, it is beautiful...
Obviously, there are so many more stories of things that happened. This would be the longest post ever if I were to share all of them. I'm working on getting more stories out there. I'm still working on processing all of it and sharing the memories. Some of them are extremely hard to share. I saw some stuff there that are hard to cope with, but I know that with time I will be able to talk about all of them. Since I got home, I'm realizing how much I fell in love with South Sudan. One day I will be back there. I absolutely love it and I love the people there.
All of these memories are strait up to show how amazing God is. None of them would have happened if it wasn't for him. He actually cares about me and my team. He actually cares about the people of South Sudan. He actually cares about each and every one of you that are reading this right now. That's the kind of God he is, and it blows my mind to think about that.
Until next time,
Salaam (peace)
Friday, March 23, 2012
The Next Step...
Since I've been back in the states (both Kona and San Jose), I've gotten asked the question "What's next?" so many times.
I've been thinking a lot about this question a lot. I honestly didn't know how to answer it. I honestly didn't know what to do next. There are so many things I want to do. I want to go back to school and finish my degree. I want to go to Kona to do the School of Worship. I want to go to Nashville to do the School of Worship. I want to staff a DTS and pour into the next set of comm transers (the school I just did). I want to do a lot of things, Unfortunately, I can only do one right now.
The hardest part about this decision is that I feel like God is opening a ton of doors and then He's telling me to "pick one." One day I feel like he's saying one thing...then next day I think he's saying another, then the day after that he's telling me it doesn't matter which one I do, because it's up to me. Let me tell ya, that makes it really hard to clearly hear which one I'm "supposed" to do. I'd love it if God would just highlight one and close all of the other doors, but it seems like that's not what's gonna happen here. Which, honestly, is okay! Makes for a crazy adventure!
So I've made a decision. I am applying to commit the next year to go back out to Kona and spend some time in Leadership Training and Staffing the next Comm-Trans school. What this means is that I will be going back through the same program that I just did, but instead of being a student I will be one of the leaders and then I will lead a team onto an outreach somewhere in the world. I'm not accepted yet, so it's not 100% guaranteed at this point, but that's the direction that I'm pursuing.
On outreach the Lord really showed me my passion for discipleship. While in South Sudan I loved pouring into the youth and adults of the church to see growth in their lives. I feel called to help raise up the next generation of revivalists here in America and abroad. I feel like the Lord is calling me to help train up the next Comm-Trans class to push them towards pursuing Jesus because of what He did to encounter me in the past 6 months.
I definitely believe that if I'm hearing God wrong on this one then He's gonna correct me. I want nothing more than to see His will be done and I'm running after that. If I'm mistaken on what I think I'm hearing him say, then I know without a doubt that He will correct me. I'm just gonna go for it and let him handle the rest. If he's not giving me this choice then I believe that He's faithful enough to get me where he wants me to be.
What this would mean is that I would go on full time as a missionary. It is a year long commitment and then at the end of the year I can either renew it or pursue something else that the Lord is laying on my heart.
I would greatly appreciate prayers for me for this next season of my life. It is a big step of faith for me, because I am going to learn how to trust the Lord in ways that I've never had to before. It is going to be different from anything else I have ever done. I know that He has placed this on my heart, so I know that He is going to come through for me.
If you would like to support me financially in this, I have made it very easy this time. There is now a "donate" button on my blog page (http://joshmorrisonywam.blogspot.com/) which allows you to donate through paypal. No mail. No checks. Nada. Very easy!
I will send out a more formal invitation to help support financially after I get accepted. I am simply stepping out in faith at this point and asking for your prayers on this. If you would like to support now, go for it, but absolutely no pressure.
Thank you all for your prayers and support over the past 6 months in my DTS. God totally destroyed my life and then remade it into something that I never thought would happen. I'm loving every second of it, and I can't wait to see what the next step is. I couldn't have experienced it if it wasn't for all of your prayers and support.
I love you all. So flippin much.
Josh
I've been thinking a lot about this question a lot. I honestly didn't know how to answer it. I honestly didn't know what to do next. There are so many things I want to do. I want to go back to school and finish my degree. I want to go to Kona to do the School of Worship. I want to go to Nashville to do the School of Worship. I want to staff a DTS and pour into the next set of comm transers (the school I just did). I want to do a lot of things, Unfortunately, I can only do one right now.
The hardest part about this decision is that I feel like God is opening a ton of doors and then He's telling me to "pick one." One day I feel like he's saying one thing...then next day I think he's saying another, then the day after that he's telling me it doesn't matter which one I do, because it's up to me. Let me tell ya, that makes it really hard to clearly hear which one I'm "supposed" to do. I'd love it if God would just highlight one and close all of the other doors, but it seems like that's not what's gonna happen here. Which, honestly, is okay! Makes for a crazy adventure!
So I've made a decision. I am applying to commit the next year to go back out to Kona and spend some time in Leadership Training and Staffing the next Comm-Trans school. What this means is that I will be going back through the same program that I just did, but instead of being a student I will be one of the leaders and then I will lead a team onto an outreach somewhere in the world. I'm not accepted yet, so it's not 100% guaranteed at this point, but that's the direction that I'm pursuing.
On outreach the Lord really showed me my passion for discipleship. While in South Sudan I loved pouring into the youth and adults of the church to see growth in their lives. I feel called to help raise up the next generation of revivalists here in America and abroad. I feel like the Lord is calling me to help train up the next Comm-Trans class to push them towards pursuing Jesus because of what He did to encounter me in the past 6 months.
I definitely believe that if I'm hearing God wrong on this one then He's gonna correct me. I want nothing more than to see His will be done and I'm running after that. If I'm mistaken on what I think I'm hearing him say, then I know without a doubt that He will correct me. I'm just gonna go for it and let him handle the rest. If he's not giving me this choice then I believe that He's faithful enough to get me where he wants me to be.
What this would mean is that I would go on full time as a missionary. It is a year long commitment and then at the end of the year I can either renew it or pursue something else that the Lord is laying on my heart.
I would greatly appreciate prayers for me for this next season of my life. It is a big step of faith for me, because I am going to learn how to trust the Lord in ways that I've never had to before. It is going to be different from anything else I have ever done. I know that He has placed this on my heart, so I know that He is going to come through for me.
If you would like to support me financially in this, I have made it very easy this time. There is now a "donate" button on my blog page (http://joshmorrisonywam.blogspot.com/) which allows you to donate through paypal. No mail. No checks. Nada. Very easy!
I will send out a more formal invitation to help support financially after I get accepted. I am simply stepping out in faith at this point and asking for your prayers on this. If you would like to support now, go for it, but absolutely no pressure.
Thank you all for your prayers and support over the past 6 months in my DTS. God totally destroyed my life and then remade it into something that I never thought would happen. I'm loving every second of it, and I can't wait to see what the next step is. I couldn't have experienced it if it wasn't for all of your prayers and support.
I love you all. So flippin much.
Josh
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Back In San Jose...What Now?
Pretty much...I'm back in San Jose. It's crazy. There's so many different thoughts and emotions going on right now I don't even know where to start. It's a crazy mix of excitement/exhaustion/being overwhelmed by everything.
I can't believe that DTS is over...It feels like just yesterday that I was packing to head out to Kona. It feels like just yesterday that I was completely clueless about what would happen in the biggest 6 months of my life. I had no idea what God would do. I had no idea that God would completely tear down the life and mindset that I had and completely replace it with something that actually gives him glory. I had no idea how dead my relationship with God had become and how much I really needed him to reveal himself. I had no idea that my picture of Jesus needed a total reshaping.
I had no idea that I would come to truly know who Jesus was.
Looking back on the last 6 months really makes me realize how much I have changed. Even in the past day of being home I have seen such a culture shift in my life. It was so freaking good. It was so ridiculously painful at times, but at the same time it was something that I am so thankful happened. God is so faithful it's ridiculous. It's so amazing how He knew that this past season of my life was the perfect time to have me do something like this. I can't believe I resisted as much as I did.
So what next?
I honestly don't know. I feel like God's opening up several doors for amazing opportunities. I have no idea which one it's going to be. Waiting to hear back on some things before I start thinking about it. What I do know is that I am going to soak in every second of being back home with my friends and family. God's definitely got big things in store for the bay area. I can't wait to see what that shapes up to be!
Even though I don't have much planned out, there is one thing that I know for sure. It's something that our school leader said when he came to visit us and it has stuck with me ever since. When you don't know what to do, default to service. So that's what I'm going to do. I may not have all of my plans (or any of them) mapped out for the next season of my life, but one thing I know for certain is that I want to look like Jesus. So that's what I'm gonna do.
Default to service, because service points to Jesus.
So stoked to see what's to come...
I can't believe that DTS is over...It feels like just yesterday that I was packing to head out to Kona. It feels like just yesterday that I was completely clueless about what would happen in the biggest 6 months of my life. I had no idea what God would do. I had no idea that God would completely tear down the life and mindset that I had and completely replace it with something that actually gives him glory. I had no idea how dead my relationship with God had become and how much I really needed him to reveal himself. I had no idea that my picture of Jesus needed a total reshaping.
I had no idea that I would come to truly know who Jesus was.
Looking back on the last 6 months really makes me realize how much I have changed. Even in the past day of being home I have seen such a culture shift in my life. It was so freaking good. It was so ridiculously painful at times, but at the same time it was something that I am so thankful happened. God is so faithful it's ridiculous. It's so amazing how He knew that this past season of my life was the perfect time to have me do something like this. I can't believe I resisted as much as I did.
So what next?
I honestly don't know. I feel like God's opening up several doors for amazing opportunities. I have no idea which one it's going to be. Waiting to hear back on some things before I start thinking about it. What I do know is that I am going to soak in every second of being back home with my friends and family. God's definitely got big things in store for the bay area. I can't wait to see what that shapes up to be!
Even though I don't have much planned out, there is one thing that I know for sure. It's something that our school leader said when he came to visit us and it has stuck with me ever since. When you don't know what to do, default to service. So that's what I'm going to do. I may not have all of my plans (or any of them) mapped out for the next season of my life, but one thing I know for certain is that I want to look like Jesus. So that's what I'm gonna do.
Default to service, because service points to Jesus.
So stoked to see what's to come...
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