(What
you are about to read contains information that had to be changed or left out
such as names and places to keep confidentiality)
Not a Word,
Not a Look, Not a Movement
It was a day that began like most. I woke early, clothed
myself, got ready, made breakfast and walked out the door. Only this morning
was different. I was going on a ride… a ride that I will never forget.
Shortly, I found myself about 3 hours from home picking up
an older gentleman. We had a couple quick stops to make, one at a local restaurant
and another to drop off a package and before we knew it, we were headed down
the thicket-lined highways back towards home.
As we were riding, his personality was nowhere to be found
and all I was left with was 3 hours of East Texas road and no one to talk to. He
never said a word, he never looked me in the eyes, and in fact, he never even
moved. We jammed to the musical arts of Ozzy Osborne, The Toadies, a few East
Texas country radio stations and even some Tejano for about an hour. During the
course of this time, I thought to myself, “I bet he has NEVER accomplished all
this in one ride before!”
It was just that
thought that got me thinking…
What was he
passionate about? What was his life
like?
Who
did he love? Why
was he like this?
Where did his heart lie?
Who loved him?What had he
experienced?
…and then it hit me…
I never had
COMPASSION
on an
UNKNOWN DEAD MAN
before!
Quickly, the most important question came up…
Had
he everexperiencedthe love of the Father?
No, not an
“experience” from a church or an emotional high experience from listening to
some good ol' preacher or a new-age worship band but a full-blown-all-out Holy
Spirit experience, one that crushes every paradigm that we have heard, been
taught or believed for years. I wonder if he had ever felt the touch of Jesus?
It only takes one….
Was the Kingdom inside of him?
Suddenly,
all of my previous questions began to make a little more sense! An experience
leads to a feast that creates a yearning for Papa's heart and desires to unfold
within us and to continue on earth. It leads to a realization of our identity
and authority, which leads us to a life of abandonment, brokenness, dependency,
and empowerment. Did this man have the Kingdom inside of him? …If so, his life
was full of joy, adventure and continued encounters with Holy Spirit. He saw
things happen that aren't “normal”. He spoke words into people breathing new
life. He was passionate about the Father's heart and where He wanted to go. He
was a lover of training and building up the people of God. He loved those who
the Father loved and he had experienced the experience of a lifetime. As his
life unfolded, so did the Kingdom of God before him. But was this the truth?
Was this really what his life was like??
Did experiencing the Father's heart day in and day out fuel him?
When we sit
back and look at it, that's what really matters isn't it? It's our encounters
with Daddy that shape us. It's in those experiences with Holy Spirit that we
realize that we are who God says we are… not what we have been taught to be… It's
those times like when I was on that bench in Lilongwe, under that mango tree in
Beira, on that sidewalk in Xining, riding in the “sweat box” in Kuala Krai, at
that wedding party in Conroe, or that hospital room in Crockett. It's in those
times that we transition from living in Black &
White to FULL-COLOR! It's
encountering HIS HEART that changes our whole world, what we do, who we love,
our experiences in life, our personality, our every step, etc… leading to a Kingdom
breather, one who changes atmospheres and breaks down walls, one who claims
Truths and watches principalities fall, one who heals the sick and calls forth
life, one who lives dreams and frees nations, one who's life is evidence of the
Father's heartbeat….
Samuel is a young man full of joy and song for the King. He is
passionate about dancing and singing for the Lord and has a lot of
personality, as you can see. Samuel is not only one of the members of
the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir, he is the secretary! Samuel always
hung around and wanted to speak with us, no matter whether we spoke the
same language or not. He just wanted fellowship and to love on other
people. Samuel is a lot of fun to be around!
------------------------------
Pastor Gama only has enough funds to feed
these 15 orphans once a day and it only costs $106 per month to feed
them all twice a day! I
am asking YOU to help feed these
children! Whatever you can give, whether it be a dime or a year's worth
of meals, please consider these children of God and send me an e-mail
about it! Let me know your heart and what you think. Ask the Lord what
your role in this is. Whether it be prayer, giving money or possibly
even going to Zomba for yourself, whatever it looks like, let me know! I
would LOVE to hear how this CD, but more importantly the Kingdom of God
through these children, impact your life!
I
have dedicated to tell you
their story in letting you know about their lives and how the Kingdom of
God is
unfolding in the little town of Zomba, Malawi. Stay tuned to my blog and
learn
their story and experience their lives!
Want toDONATE?
Mail
a check to:
Colby Gardner
9066 FM 1119
Centerville, TX
Be sure to specify “Euro African
Baptist Youth
Choir” in memo.
Don't worry, every penny
will go towards feeding the orphans unless you specify otherwise.
E-mail me
at colbygardner@gmail.com if you have questions about
other ways to donate
or about donatingmonthly, periodically, or
annually or have any other
questions.
Can'tDONATE?
That's ok! Pray and spread the word by re-posting
this blog link (post the
videos, pictures and this the first EABYC blog link http://colbygardner.theworldrace.org/?filename=free-cd-release-eabyc-i-want-to-follow-jesus)
on your
personal blog, facebook, twitter, and e-mailing it to your friends and
family. Download the CD by clicking HERE.
(Please send me a short e-mail or comment on this blog if you
downloaded the CD) The aim here is to tell the story
of those in the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir and to expand the
Kingdom of
God while raising funds to feed the orphans through donations. Help them
out and POST POST POST!!!! :)
Stay tuned, as
I have MORE to share with
you! COMING SOON: Private
interviews with members/leaders of Euro African Baptist Youth
Choir!!!
-colby
PS: We have already
raised 4 months worth of meals for the children! Let's keep that cycle
going!
After you download the CD, RIGHT CLICK &
UNZIP or UNCOMPRESS it. CLICK & DRAG the unzipped folder to your
iTUNES or MUSIC PLAYER. The files will be copied to your music player
and should appear shortly.
Wilkes is a young man that has a huge heart for children and has decided
to be one of the leaders of the youth at Euro African Baptist Church
and dedicated himself to lead them to the heart of the Lord. Wilkes is a
quiet man with a great joy for living and serving God's people. Wilkes
not only serves as the chairman of the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir
but he also signs in the choir! I can remember the day before we left
Zomba when Wilkes, Samuel and Grant (leaders of EABYC) came to our house
to give me a gift. They did so and then asked, "Do you have something
that we can remember you by?" We laughed and had a good time as we said
our goodbyes. The guys made sure that I would help tell their story.
------------------------------
Pastor Gama only has enough funds to feed
these 15 orphans once a day and it only costs $106 per month to feed
them all twice a day! I
am asking YOU to help feed these
children! Whatever you can give, whether it be a dime or a year's worth
of meals, please consider these children of God and send me an e-mail
about it! Let me know your heart and what you think. Ask the Lord what
your role in this is. Whether it be prayer, giving money or possibly
even going to Zomba for yourself, whatever it looks like, let me know! I
would LOVE to hear how this CD, but more importantly the Kingdom of God
through these children, impact your life!
I
have dedicated to tell you
their story in letting you know about their lives and how the Kingdom of
God is
unfolding in the little town of Zomba, Malawi. Stay tuned to my blog and
learn
their story and experience their lives!
Want toDONATE?
Mail
a check to:
Colby Gardner
9066 FM 1119
Centerville, TX
Be sure to specify “Euro African
Baptist Youth
Choir” in memo.
Don't worry, every penny
will go towards feeding the orphans unless you specify otherwise.
E-mail me
at colbygardner@gmail.com if you have questions about
other ways to donate
or about donatingmonthly, periodically, or
annually or have any other
questions.
Can'tDONATE?
That's ok! Pray and spread the word by re-posting
this blog link (post the
videos, pictures and this the first EABYC blog link http://colbygardner.theworldrace.org/?filename=free-cd-release-eabyc-i-want-to-follow-jesus)
on your
personal blog, facebook, twitter, and e-mailing it to your friends and
family. Download the CD by clicking HERE.
(Please send me a short e-mail or comment on this blog if you
downloaded the CD) The aim here is to tell the story
of those in the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir and to expand the
Kingdom of
God while raising funds to feed the orphans through donations. Help them
out and POST POST POST!!!! :)
Stay tuned, as
I have MORE to share with
you! COMING SOON: Private
interviews with members/leaders of Euro African Baptist Youth
Choir!!!
-colby
PS: We have already
raised 4 months worth of meals for the children! Let's keep that cycle
going!
After you download the CD, RIGHT CLICK &
UNZIP or UNCOMPRESS it. CLICK & DRAG the unzipped folder to your
iTUNES or MUSIC PLAYER. The files will be copied to your music player
and should appear shortly.
Pastor Medson Gama is the abusa (pastor) at Euro African Baptist Church
in Zomba, Malawi and has an incredibly huge heart for the Kingdom of
God. He works day and night (literally) to make sure that people know
the love of God in his community. Pastor Gama teams up with other
pastors and missionaries from all over the world to go to the farthest
edges of Malawi to ensure Kingdom growth, to plant and lead churches and
to show villagers how to experience the true love of their Father. He
has been at Euro African Baptist Church for years now but remains as a
working man throughout the community, supporting 15 orphans with his
church body, going door to door daily to visit the people and simply
living life with the people of Zomba and being the face of Jesus day in
and day out. Pray for Pastor Medson Gama and his surrounding community
as it is our desire to tell their story and back them up with
encouragement and songs of love.
I personally got to spend one
month (November 2010) with Pastor Medson, his wife Rose and their family
there in Zomba. I experienced a true man of God not only with a passion
for God's heart but a zeal to give it freely! He will forever be a
model of what Jesus' mandate for His children: "Freely you have
received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8)
Medson & I after church one Sunday in Zpmba.
Grant
Kawamba
Grant is a young man who was obedient to the calling of the Lord
on his
life to lead the youth choir at Euro African Baptist Church in Zomba.
(Grant is VERY camera shy and had never seen anything like that before.)
He told me, "Many of these children have no father and mother and God
told me to come and lead them spiritually to His heart and singing songs
of praise is one way to do it. ...I love to sing and dance for the Lord
and I take it seriously." Grant was once on the path of destruction
himself until one day God intervened and captured his heart. Now, he is
the choirmaster of the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir and will be
heard as the dominant lead voice on their CD, "I Want to Follow Jesus".
Wilkes, Grant, Samuel & I just before we left for Mozambique. We traded gifts and then said our goodbyes. :(
------------------------------
Pastor Gama only has enough funds to feed these 15 orphans once a day and it only costs $106 per month to feed them all twice a day! I
am asking YOU to help feed these
children! Whatever you can give, whether it be a dime or a year's worth
of meals, please consider these children of God and send me an e-mail
about it! Let me know your heart and what you think. Ask the Lord what
your role in this is. Whether it be prayer, giving money or possibly
even going to Zomba for yourself, whatever it looks like, let me know! I
would LOVE to hear how this CD, but more importantly the Kingdom of God
through these children, impact your life!
I
have dedicated to tell you
their story in letting you know about their lives and how the Kingdom of
God is
unfolding in the little town of Zomba, Malawi. Stay tuned to my blog and
learn
their story and experience their lives!
Want toDONATE?
Mail
a check to:
Colby Gardner
9066 FM 1119
Centerville, TX
Be sure to specify “Euro African
Baptist Youth
Choir” in memo.
Don't worry, every penny
will go towards feeding the orphans unless you specify otherwise.
E-mail me
at colbygardner@gmail.com if you have questions about
other ways to donate
or about donatingmonthly, periodically, or
annually or have any other
questions.
Can'tDONATE?
That's ok! Pray and spread the word by re-posting
this blog link (post the
videos, pictures and this the first EABYC blog link http://colbygardner.theworldrace.org/?filename=free-cd-release-eabyc-i-want-to-follow-jesus)
on your
personal blog, facebook, twitter, and e-mailing it to your friends and
family. Download the CD by clicking HERE.
(Please send me a short e-mail or comment on this blog if you
downloaded the CD) The aim here is to tell the story
of those in the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir and to expand the
Kingdom of
God while raising funds to feed the orphans through donations. Help them
out and POST POST POST!!!! :)
Stay tuned, as
I have MORE to share with
you! COMING SOON: Private
interviews with members/leaders of Euro African Baptist Youth
Choir!!!
-colby
PS: We have already
raised 4 months worth of meals for the children! Let's keep that cycle
going!
After you download the CD, RIGHT CLICK &
UNZIP or UNCOMPRESS it. CLICK & DRAG the unzipped folder to your
iTUNES or MUSIC PLAYER. The files will be copied to your music player
and should appear shortly.
Memory Balakasi is a young lady who lives in Zomba, Malawi and currently
is the choir mistress of the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir in Mpunga
village. Memory is one of two children left behind as both her mother
and father both have passed away. As you saw her character and
leadership in the choir, you can see that she is quite the joyful woman
of God. As the choir mistress, this means that she, along with many
other duties, is one of the young women who leads the choir in
chants and songs as they worship together. Memory has a powerful voice
and is extremely passionate about worshipping the Lord and ensuring that
she continues to encourage and lead the group in the gifts that she has
been given, which is a powerful voice. This voice is not only a voice
to sing but to spur people on to live a powerful and influential life in
the Kingdom of God.
Memory is one of the oldest orphans (most of the orphans are not old enough to sing in the youth choir yet) that Pastor Gama and the Euro African Baptist Church parents, houses and feeds on a daily basis. There are a total of 15 orphans that the church has taken in, but with the poor economy and hardships in Malawi, they only have enough funds to feed the children once a day. After asking questions, I found out that it only takes $106 USD to feed all 15 of the orphans twice a day for one full month. (Malawians don't always eat three meals a day like Americans)
I am asking YOU to help feed these
children! Whatever you can give, whether it be a dime or a year's worth
of meals, please consider these children of God and send me an e-mail
about it! Let me know your heart and what you think. Ask the Lord what
your role in this is. Whether it be prayer, giving money or possibly
even going to Zomba for yourself, whatever it looks like, let me know! I
would LOVE to hear how this CD, but more importantly the Kingdom of God
through these children, impact your life!
I have dedicated to tell you
their story in letting you know about their lives and how the Kingdom of
God is
unfolding in the little town of Zomba, Malawi. Stay tuned to my blog and
learn
their story and experience their lives!
Want toDONATE?
Mail
a check to:
Colby Gardner
9066 FM 1119
Centerville, TX
Be sure to specify “Euro African
Baptist Youth
Choir” in memo.
Don't worry, every penny
will go towards feeding the orphans unless you specify otherwise.
E-mail me
at colbygardner@gmail.com if you have questions about
other ways to donate
or about donatingmonthly, periodically, or
annually or have any other
questions.
Can'tDONATE?
That's ok! Pray and spread the word by re-posting this blog link (post the videos, pictures and this the first EABYC blog link http://colbygardner.theworldrace.org/?filename=free-cd-release-eabyc-i-want-to-follow-jesus) on your
personal blog, facebook, twitter, and e-mailing it to your friends and
family. Download the CD by clicking HERE.
(Please send me a short e-mail or comment on this blog if you
downloaded the CD) The aim here is to tell the story
of those in the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir and to expand the
Kingdom of
God while raising funds to feed the orphans through donations. Help them
out and POST POST POST!!!! :)
Stay tuned, as
I have MORE to share with
you! COMING SOON: Private
interviews with members/leaders of Euro African Baptist Youth
Choir!!!
-colby
PS: We have already
raised 4 months worth of meals for the children! Let's keep that cycle
going!
After you download the CD, RIGHT CLICK &
UNZIP or UNCOMPRESS it. CLICK & DRAG the unzipped folder to your
iTUNES or MUSIC PLAYER. The files will be copied to your music player
and should appear shortly.
If you followed me on the Race, you
may remember this…
In November
of 2010, a group of World Racers entered Zomba, Malawi. They went with the sole
purpose of unleashing the Kingdom of God. Among all, one thing left them in
tears. That was the sound of the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir. As they
stomped and sang their way in the back door, the hair on the necks of every
foreigner in that place stood straight up! By the end of the first song, they
were ALL sobbing. It made no sense to them as to why they were crying at the
sound of a youth choir but what they did understand was that it was ultimately
the most beautiful sound that had ever hit their ears….
NEW CD COVER - "I Want to Follow Jesus" EURO AFRICAN BAPTIST YOUTH CHOIR
Well,
I was one of those foreigners in that little church in the nook of a mountain
in Zomba, Malawi. As I learned about a week into our stay that the church
only had enough funds to feed the children once a day, I began to pray for
those children, the church and the surrounding community. I was broken for the people there.
After I had been praying for about a week, the Lord told me to gather the youth
choir and produce a CD of some of their best songs. The Holy Spirit told
me to tell their story, get their music out and help them
raise funds to feed the children in the orphanage/choir by taking donations for the CD. Soon after, I asked
Pastor Gama how much it would be to feed the children all month and he said
$106. I, at first, assumed that this meant 3 times a day but evidently,
Malawians don't always eat 3 meals a day like Americans do, so the $106 goes to
feed all 15 orphans TWICE a day for one month!
As you can probably guess, we produced the CD. On November 13, 2010 after about 4 hours and 17 songs, at about 6pm, we finished recording and the choir called a day. The finished CD, "I Want to Follow Jesus" has 19 tracks
(17 songs and 2 short interviews) and it is an a cappella CD filled with a
lot of heart, heart simply giving thanks and worshiping God!
EABYC Promo Video
Want the CD for FREE?
To DOWNLOAD the EABYC CD click HERE. If you do so, please send me a quick e-mail
at: colbygardner@gmail.com or comment on this blog. I would like to keep tabs on how many are downloaded and what you think about it. :)
EABYC - “I Want to Resemble Jesus in All
I Do”
The Euro African Baptist Youth
Choir out of Zomba, Malawi is primarily made up of orphans from the church
there in the side of the mountain in Mpunga Village (Zomba). These children are
extremely talented and love to worship the Lord with every ounce of their being.
...........
I am asking YOU to help feed these children! Whatever you can give, whether it be a dime or a year's worth of meals, please consider these children of God and send me an e-mail about it! Let me know your heart and what you think. Ask the Lord what your role in this is. Whether it be prayer, giving money or possibly even going to Zomba for yourself, whatever it looks like, let me know! I would LOVE to hear how this CD, but more importantly the Kingdom of God through these children, impact your life!
I have dedicated to tell you
their story in letting you know about their lives and how the Kingdom of God is
unfolding in the little town of Zomba, Malawi. Stay tuned to my blog and learn
their story and experience their lives!
Want toDONATE?
Mail
a check to:
Colby Gardner
9066 FM 1119
Centerville, TX
Be sure to specify “Euro African Baptist Youth
Choir” in memo.
Don't worry, every penny will go towards feeding the orphans unless you specify otherwise.
E-mail me at colbygardner@gmail.com if you have questions about other ways to donate
or about donatingmonthly, periodically, or
annually or have any other questions.
Can'tDONATE?
That's ok! Pray. Spread the word by copying this
blog link (http://colbygardner.theworldrace.org/?filename=free-cd-release-eabyc-i-want-to-follow-jesus) and posting it on your
personal blog, facebook, twitter, and e-mailing it to your friends and family. Download the CD by clicking HERE. (Please send me a short e-mail or comment on this blog if you downloaded the CD) The aim here is to tell the story
of those in the Euro African Baptist Youth Choir and to expand the Kingdom of
God while raising funds to feed the orphans through donations. Help them out and POST POST POST!!!! :)
Stay tuned, as
I have MORE to share with you! COMING SOON: Private
interviews with members/leaders of Euro African Baptist Youth Choir!!!
-colby
PS: We have already raised 4 months worth of meals for the children! Let's keep that cycle going!
After you download the CD, RIGHT CLICK & UNZIP or UNCOMPRESS it. CLICK & DRAG the unzipped folder to your iTUNES or MUSIC PLAYER. The files will be copied to your music player and should appear shortly.
In this episode, the teams find out what it takes to get cool in the
extreme heat of Africa. While in pursuit of this, they have their own
African Christmas experience and find newfound connections with the
people in Mafambisse! This changed the rest of their month and opened
their eyes to love them in new and exciting ways, despite the rough
conditions.
There is always more than what
meets the naked eye, am I right? Well, what if I told you that the Kingdom of
God is at work in power all around you but you were missing some or maybe even all
of it, would you believe me? Let me give you a small peek into something that
rocked me to the core this past year while traveling the world, serving 11
different countries in Jesus name.
While in South Africa, I was
given this piece of hardcore Truth: “There
is a BIG difference between doing things FOR God and WITH God, FOR Holy Spirit
and WITH Holy Spirit.”
Before we get into that, let's
remind ourselves of a few things real quick….
1.Holy Spiritis the power of God at work in us (Luke 24:49).
2.Holy
Spirit was given to us when Jesus left earth (John 20:22) and the Spirit still dwells in His children
(Romans 8:9, Luke 11:13, Galatians 3:14, Ezekiel 36:27).
3.When people in scripture, or now for
that matter, operate(d) “in the Spirit”
or were “full of the Spirit”, powerful
things happened (look it up!).
4.This is God's mandate for His children:
“The Kingdom of God is at hand. Heal the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received,
freely give.” -Jesus (Matthew 10:7-8)
My aim is not to drill you
scripturally because, well, you have been reading or hearing scripture all of
your life. Just let me give you something concrete and full of Truth here.
Let's get focused back in on the
“for” or “with” topic again.
Doing things FOR God is good; there
is nothing wrong with that but we just end up doing, well, that's just it,
DOING. We often hear the commonly used phrase, “it's a relationship, not a
religion” don't we? Let's put this in perspective for a second. When we do
things FOR God we live by the law (do's and don'ts) and in a way, we are doing
things to ‘live up to' or ‘gain approval' of a God who doesn't want that from
us. This just pushes us into a religion and not a relationship. It becomes a ‘do
and don't' thing. We live in a religion when we do things FOR God and this was
not intended for God's children (Romans 8:21). Doing things for God is good and
fun but that's all you are left with a ‘good time' and a pat on the back from
time to time.
Doing things WITH God is a whole
different ballgame. When we work WITH God, we work where He is working, we are
doing the things He is doing and with that comes the power that I mentioned
earlier. I mean, come one, God did give us HIS Spirit! After all, Mark 16:20
says, (Mind you, Jesus had just left earth) “And they went out and preached
everywhere, while the Lord worked WITH them and confirmed the message by
accompanying signs.” Jesus was gone but still working WITH. Hmm… interesting! Working
WITH God means that we are listening. Doing things WITH God leaves you
scratching your head at the end of the day saying, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?” and
worshipping in Spirit AND Truth at the same time, knowing and experiencing the
heart of God for His children in sometimes tangible, Kingdom form!
The book of Matthew (7:22-23) says,
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and cast out demons in your name, and do mighty works in your name?' And
then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you….'” We can do things in ‘Jesus
name' all of our life but still not work WITH Him. We can do mighty things for
the name and sake of God but not really know the Spirit of God. We can do
things in the name of Jesus and miss it all. We can miss the Kingdom of God
unleashing before our eyes OR we can do things in the name of Jesus and watch
the world change before our eyes. Our response is the determining factor. You
see, we can easily neglect the power of the Holy Spirit and God's desire to
work through us if we don't sit back and listen for it.
I was a youth minister for two
years while I was in college and not once did I ask the Lord, “Where do you
want us?” or “What do YOU want us to do?” I never listened to see if God was
saying, “Turn left” when my plan was to turn right. I just planned things and
we did things FOR God. There was no power in it. Nothing extraordinary happened
and the Kingdom of God was not enveloping earth. I was a leader who planned and
did, not listened and obeyed.
Being a believer and working with
God is as easy as listening and obeying. That, my friends, is relationship, a
Spirit filled, powerful, Kingdom bringing relationship!
You know, I had always heard
extreme stories of God telling someone to do a headstand on the street corner
or God telling a woman to do a cartwheel through church, or even God telling a
man to punch a woman in her stomach to heal her and miraculous things followed.
I always wondered if these were true. Well, let me tell you something, the Lord
speaks to His children in crazy ways!
Just before I left the U.S. this
past year something happened. It was the 6th day of World Race
training camp and my team and I were directed to ask God for a vision of
something (I had never asked God for such a thing!) specifically to direct our
unknown ministry of the day. They said it could be something as simple as a
pair of socks or a color. I prayed for God to give me a vision and I could see
(in my mind) myself walking up to an old abandoned house and there was someone
cutting him/herself. I was of course freaked out and wondering where my mind
had gone! I asked God to give me something “of Him” and again I received the
same vision. Once more… the same vision! I was thinking, “Where's the socks
God!?” Finally, I told Him, “God, if this isn't of you, give me something else”
and I got the same thing for the fourth time. Convinced, I went to share with
my team. Once we all shared what God gave us, which was an old abandoned house,
someone cutting them self, an old black Lincoln, broken handcuffs, a homeless
person, steps and the bright colors orange and blue, we headed towards Atlanta,
GA. As we walked the streets of this rich neighborhood, I thought, “You've got
to be kidding me! An old abandoned house HERE!?” Not a mile from where we
parked, we saw an old black Lincoln halfway
out in the road. We walked around it and kept going. As I was making sure I was
listening to the Spirit, just past the car, I got, “turn to your right”. As
soon as I turned, I saw right across the road from the Lincoln, among mansions,
was an old abandoned house! My jaw hit
the ground! While looking around the house and praying over it, I got a phone
call from one of my teammates who had walked on. “Colby, we need your help. Can
we come get you?” As soon as we walked up to where we were going, I saw a homeless man sitting on a park bench
about to pull the razor blade across his arm (he was already covered in scars)
and start cutting. Thomas was his
name and we found out that he had just been released from prison (broken handcuffs). We listened to him,
poured into him, told him what God says about him and prayed over him for a
while. Just after our goodbye hugs as we began to walk away, Thomas said, “I
was sleeping right here,” pointing to the ground next to the park bench, “when
you found me right?” “Yeah, why?” asked my friend. Thomas looked straight at us
and said, “I usually don't sleep here,” as he pointed back up the street, “I
normally sleep on the steps of an old abandoned house up there across the
street.” It all made sense then! This was it! This was the man that God had in
mind to encounter that day! Well, as if we were finished with imparting the
Kingdom of God on Thomas, we walked on only to discover on the sidewalk a bright orange arrow pointing across the
street to the house and a bright blue
arrow pointing back to Thomas. That day, I am sure of it, Thomas met the
Kingdom of God how he was supposed to. It wasn't some group of people before or
after us passing out tracts, it was a group of people willing to listen and
obey the voice of the Lord!
As if that story is not enough,
prior to entering China (month 9), our contacts kept telling us, “We don't know
why you are coming but we're glad you're coming.” Once we got there, we heard
the same thing quite a few times and were also told that they had nothing for
us to do. “Just wait around for something. We'll either find something for you
or you can just find something yourselves”, we were told. On the second or
third day of waiting around, I couldn't take it anymore. I was talking to Jesus
and He told me just to go outside. I finally went outside and started walking
around the apartment complex. While walking and ‘talking' with the natives, God
told me, “I'm going to bring two white people your way today”. At this point, I
had only seen one white person in that big city. I kept walking and the Spirit
began to stir. For an hour and a half or so I walked and prayed things I knew
nothing of. As I was praying, I got to one point on the sidewalk, God stopped
my feet and said, “Stop. Stay right here.” I stayed for, I don't know, twenty
or thirty minutes until after looking at the mountains to the right for a bit, I
looked left and an older white couple was walking straight at me! As soon as
they got within earshot, I told them, “I've been waiting on you two!” They
looked at each other and then said to me, “You have!?” “Yes ma'am, the Lord
told me to come out here and while walking around, He told me that He was gonna
bring you two to me,” I quickly replied. “Well praise the Lord!” the wife said,
“We don't know why you're here but we're sure glad you're here!” Yeah, they
said it! A bit after they told me that they were from Texas, which was a HUGE
blessing, they told me that they needed my help and wanted to know if there
were more people with me. I was then informed of an English Café that they were
opening up on Wednesdays and Thursdays to help the community with their
English. If that were not enough, as soon as I got upstairs to tell everyone
(my team went crazy), my teammate Rachel walked in only to say, “Guys I heard
about this English Café that we should look into helping at this month!” Well,
as the Holy Spirit proves Himself again, we worked with the café all month and
had some divine encounters!
I could go on and tell you about
how the Lord told me to give my cousin another ‘option' for his back (major
surgery was inevitable according to doctors) and then God healed him at a
wedding, or how when praying for a guy with knee problems in Africa, the Spirit
told me to stretch out my hands toward a man with problems in his hand and God
healed him on spot too, or how the Lord tells me things about people all the
time, I repeat those things to them and the people freak out at how I knew that
and then I tell them what God wants them to hear. I could go on and on and on
about operating in the Spirit and working WITH God but I don't believe I have
to. I will not say that Holy Spirit is going to speak to you like you always
thought but I will say it like I did earlier… listen for it and obey it no
matter what and you WILL see, hear, feel, smell, and taste the Kingdom of God
as it comes crashing to earth before you!
This episode is a sneak peak into what has been going on in my life since I have returned from the race on May 28th. The Kingdom of God has been non-surprisingly expanding all over the place in the form of simple love all the way to physical healings through random strangers to my own family. Also, as you can see, the title of this series, Country Boy Meets City Girl, will tell you a great bit of what else has been developing in my life! THANKS WORLD RACE!!! haha Continue to watch as more videos and writings are to come your way soon! ...Team Last Place, don't worry, our videos have first priority! ;)
In this episode, Colby Gardner of Centerville, TX and Courtney Hess of
Orange County, California take a trip to the Angeles National Forest in
Southern California (Pasadena). Watch as they discover some amazing
sites as they hike the trails and streams of the Mallard Campground and beyond. They take on their first challenge in uncovering some of
Southern California's most beautiful terrain. (Stay tuned, as they have taken on the task to tour you through different cities throughout
the United States.)
This is a video that my buddy Daniel Durick made just before we left Pangkor Island in Malaysia. It is a great peek into our minds and what God was doing over the year. It was difficult, breaking, beautiful and victorious all at the same time.
Thank you for sticking with me/us throughout the year and continue to stay tuned in because I have MANY MORE videos and writings to come (I'm just relaxing for a bit at the moment). Continue to pray as I am in the middle of listening to what/where the Lord has me in the near future. Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement, I am going to continue needing them!!! Love, colby