If you haven’t read the first two posts about my Gulf Coast scout trip, you will want to go back and read these first.

 

We were fifteen minutes into our ride when we saw him.  David, one of the men Rob had told us about, was about to get into his car.  David is the neighborhood evangelist, uncle, coach and all-around great guy.  Saved from a life of drugs many years ago, David has now devoted his life to reaching the folk in and around Vinton.  We immediately stopped and within seconds Rob and David were embracing.  Almost everyone we had seen in Vinton’s “down town” (read: main area) was African American, it was refreshing to see Rob and David embracing and obviously answering the question Nathan and I had about racial relations in Vinton. 

After Rob introduced us and gave a little background as to what was going to happen this summer David was ecstatic.  Though he needed to get a young man (9 year old) to a basketball practice, David first took the time to pray for us.  Now, I’ve been prayed for (in person) many times, but this was a very blessed prayer.  As David was praying I could literally feel the Lords affirmation that THIS was a holy moment and a divine appointment.  The Holy Spirit was moving in each of us as we all prayed for His work this summer in Vinton.

After the David blessing, we loaded back into the SUV to finish our tour, set up plans to meet the next day and finalize our contacts Rob had given us for the next day.  It was a great day.  Literally, three hours earlier we had zero contacts in TX/LA.  Now we had one town nailed down and two meetings set up for our two other needed ministry places.  God was blessing/providing, yet this was just the beginning… (the pre-cursor to let you know there will be more to this story).

We eventually found our lodging for the night, I did the math in my head, In the last 76 hours, I had slept a grand total of about 4 hours. I was absolutely exhausted and by 9:00 PM I was falling asleep.  For the next 12 hours I was continued to receive the Lord’s blessing in the form of a DEEP DEEP sleep! 

More to come!

Grace,
Brian

 

This post is a continuation of my Gulf Coast Report, two posts back.  Check that out first…

After talking to Michelle, the youth leader in Vinton, LA, we continued for the last 45 minutes of our trek through east Texas on I-10.  Nathan used his Blackberry to get us the quick directions off I-10 to the church in Vinton.

We arrived to the site of two cars parked in the church lot, this gave us hope that in fact, someone was around who would be able to help.  Sure enough, as our car doors opened and that ever-important first stretch out of the car was complete, we witnessed the church doors open.  “Y’all made it” 

We chatted with Michelle in the church foyer for three or four minutes.  At this point we were all thinking she was simply going to give us information about the region and perhaps some contacts we could reach who would be interested in what Youthmark had to offer.

She began to tour us around the church, first stop, the sanctuary.  We were introduced to a man, Rob, who was working on some wiring.  Rob, besides being the resident electrician, is the Senior Pastor and he quickly became our friend.

We spent the next 90 minutes or so talking about Vinton, the hurricanes, Youthmark and  bits of our own testimonies.  It became very clear to all four of us that Youthmark and Vinton would be partnering this summer.  

We eventually finished the tour of the church and Michelle eventually got to her daughters basketball game.  Nathan and I jumped into Rob’s SUV and we were treated to a driving tour of Vinton.  

I have provided several shots of Vinton here.  The town is very diverse in terms of housing.  We saw everything from 300 sq. foot square homes to a large three story 4000+ sq. foot home being constructed.  Every sort of trailer you could imagine serves as home for many while some low-income apartments exist in one of the areas near the town center.  It became even more evident Vinton and Youthmark were going to be a match as we drove the streets and saw scores of teens just hanging out.  Nathan, Rob and I all imagined what it will look like this summer to see our trained teens hanging out with these searching souls.

Begin to pray for that work now!  God’s blessing is pouring out and was about to poured out even more while we continued the drive…

I’m diggin’ this continuing story!

Grace,
Brian

Nathan and I met at the airport at approximately 10:00 PM after I had spoken at Young Life and he had worked through many of his wedding details with his fiancee, Megan.  We were able to get a last minute, late night, bite-to-eat before our flight took off at 11:50 PM.  The all night flight took us to our 2 hour layover in Dallas.  

As I had mentioned in a prior post, I had been sick over the weekend (food poisoning) and my sleep patterns were off.  For some reason I had only gotten about 90 minutes sleep on Sunday night, and here I was up all night on the plane to Dallas.  As we arrived in Dallas I thought I’d find a nice soft floor to sleep on… hmmm, couldn’t find one of those, but I did try to catch some zzz’s.  Nope!

While in Hawaii I sent approximately 15 emails to churches in eastern TX along the Gulf Coast.  NOT ONE had emailed back, so we literally were an hour flight, and three hour drive (from San Antonio to the Gulf) away from scouting and had ZERO contacts.  Fun times.  However, while in Dallas, and not sleeping, I googled (yes, it is a verb now) TX/LA maps and found a small town, Vinton, Louisiana which fit my rural town profile (under 3k in population).  I was not able to do much more than google, “Vinton, LA churches” and it was time to board our flight.

Schlaud slept.

I didn’t.

We got the rental (a sporty Toyota Yaris) and off across I-10 we trekked. 

When were were driving through Beaumont TX I decided it was time to look at the webpage I had left open on my mac.  Nathan opened it up and we called the first church listed, Crossroads Baptist Church of Vinton.  Here’s the conversation:

Lady: Crossroads Baptist!

Me: Hi, my name is Brian, I was wondering if you have a youth ministry leader available?

Lady: Yes, we do, her name is Michelle, I’ll connect you with her

Michelle: This is Michelle

Me: Hi Michelle, my name is Brian… do you have a minute?

Michelle: (and with the most classic pause, ever)… ummm…. yeah? 

Me: (quickly) No worries, this isn’t a sales call, I promise…

With that I explained 30 seconds or so who I was, what Youthmark does and wondered if she might be able to meet in an hour.  Somewhat reluctantly she decided to let us know “someone would be at the church who might be able to help us with some contacts.”  

On that note, we decided to go for, nothing else to lose (and with me dreaming of a good night sleep, just around the corner)… so we drove to Vinton…

The Gulf Part Two coming later…

Grace,
Brian

The last three weeks have been crazy.  I am amazed by the grace of God and his provision.  Over the next couple posts I will explain little chapters of His provision and faithfulness.  To start, I’ll clue you in on the calendar of events.

January 16-18: Speak for Rose Hill Pres Winter Retreat

January 19-23: Scout trip for Hawaii including an overnight flight Jan 22/23.

January 23: meetings all morning after getting off the plane, nap in the afternoon then great dinner out with the family (I missed them so much).

January 24: 4:00 AM food poisoning wake-up call.  Sick all day.

January 25: Speak at Parent/Student meeting at Faith Baptist Church

January 26: Speak at Kentridge Young Life then catch a flight to San Antonio via Dallas via Seattle.

January 27: Scouting Gulf Coast; San Antonio to Vinton, LA

January 28: Scouting Gulf Coast; Vinton, Hackberry, Starks, Lake Charles and Bridge City TX.  Then off to Spring, TX, north of Houston to speak at  a Youth Group (NW Bible); after YG we drive back to San Antonio

January 29: Scouting Gulf Coast; two meetings with Youth Pastors in SA to talk about YMV’s.  Schlaud and I then go to my aunt and uncles for a great night of hot tub, steak dinner, hot tub, and sleep.

January 30: Schlaud flies to Seattle, I fly to Denver.  Drive to Colorado Springs for consulting.  Coffee with a former student, Patrick, and later a hang out with some college friends too.

January 31: Consulting, training and parent meeting at Pulpit Rock Church

February 1: Teaching at Middle School and then at High School.  Afternoon consulting appointments and then the Super Bowl.  Late night coffee with another college friend.

February 2: Breakfast with two youth pastors talking about YMV’s.  Flight home.  Speak at Kentridge Young Life.

February 3: West Seattle Network, CATCH UP and then Kentridge basketball game (contact work for YL).

February 4: Burien Network, CATCH UP and Speaking at Calvary Chapel South.

Now that you know the craziness, and the violins have been played (I know, hard to feel sorry for a guy who HAD to go to Hawaii), I will write about the great details of these trips!  God has been at work!

Grace,
Brian

Finished my scouting trip to the Gulf Coast on Friday; what an amazing trip it was.  I will give it the “Kauai” treatment and share all the amazing things the Lord did/provided for us (Nathan Schlaud and I did the trip).  However, I am about to speak at Sunday School for PRC (a church doing a Youthmark Mission Venture).

Lot’s to share over the next few days, look forward to taking the time to write the posts!

Grace,
Brian

P.S. Here are a couple shots down in the Gulf…

As I have already posted, my Kauai scout trip was quite amazing.  Though it was planned (by man) last minute, God pre-drafted the itinerary and had me in the right places at the right times.  Not only was I blessed by the Christian contacts (namely Angela, Jimmy & Fam and The ABC youth group/leaders); but I was also blessed with the pursuit of my other contacts.

In Kapaa, on Tuesday afternoon, after having lunch with Jimmy, I was left to myself.  Kapaa is a little bit of a larger town (complete with known fast food places).  I scouted the streets in search of wifi knowing I had a lot of other work to do (and some additional contacts to make).  The “Old School” coffee shop had closed for the afternoon but I happened upon a burrito bar, Shaka Tacos, which advertised free wifi (and espresso).  It was here I had my first witnessing opportunity.  My mission scout trip, became the mission.  I had a great conversation with the Barista, he was from Spokane.  We chatted for several minutes, the conversation changed when it got a little too close to Jesus (he all of a sudden needed to get some stuff done in the back).  Pray for his heart.

 

On Wednesday, I had received directions to the Christian School where I was going to meet one of the pastors.  I see God at work in mis-direction.  I either received faulty directions or made a wrong turn, but I ended up in Hanalei, Kauai.  This town was hippie-central and honestly, a place I want to see a team come this summer (PRAY the Lord supplies a team to place here).  I decided to make a go of it and see if I might make some contact on my own.   There didn’t seem to be an evangelical church presence in Hanalei (checking the internet, asking a few contacts, etc.).  I made my way to a central court area where the wifi was free.  The young lady who had just served me my cup-o-joe

was now on her lunch break.  She and another gal sat down at my table in this courtyard.  One was talking about having not hear President Obamas inauguration speech.  I quickly brought it up on YouTube, offered my headphones, and in a weird way my mac became the conduit for a spiritual conversation which was about to take place.  Another local came by with his lunch and within a few minutes our political conversation became spiritual.  An hour later, and lunch breaks ending, I can safely say these three saw a different side of Christianity than they had recently.  The “Christian Cults” they claimed were replaced by “Thanks for the great conversation.”  Please pray for Allysia, Jessie and Jim.  Each had his/her own perception of Religion and Jesus; I pray that one day they will have the right perception and a growing Relationship!  Jim studies the Word (along with every other religion) so pray the Spirit does His work and helps him to see the Truth, and then perhaps he’ll share more with the gals as well.

 

 

I did hit the Starbucks in Kapaa, where I met Kian and Jen.  Jen was the Barista and Kian runs a ministry called U-Turn for Christ (a ministry of Calvary Chapel).  Its a blessing to meet Christians in the local communities.  We had a few moments of encouraging conversation.

Thank you Lord for the incredible ministry opportunities.  I am thankful for the direction and misdirection.  The planned and the unplanned meetings.  May this summer be much the same for the team(s) serving in Kauai!  Amen!

On Sunday night I received a phone call from a Christian Pastor in Hanalei, he’s looking forward to talking to me!  Praise the Lord!

Grace,
Brian

Caught a little time on the beach one afternoon and took in some other sites and sounds, here are some more pics. 

 

As I previously posted, by Hawaii scout trip was a great success.  It sure is nice being home, but if you have to be gone doing business, Hawaii is a great place to be.  For those who check the blog to get a report on the ministry side of things, this report will hopefully serve you well!  I sure appreciate you serving us well through your prayers!

Elisabeth and I have a family friend, Angela, who lives on Kauai.  She books vacation rentals (so if you are looking for a family vacation, we’ll give you a contact to make).  Angela was my one contact on the island of Kauai before we began planning this mission (which is one more contact than I have for a couple of the regions we’re doing).  When I told Angela about the scout trip she gave me the email of the guy (Jimmy) who leads the youth group at her church.  I emailed Jimmy and immediately knew I would click well with this guy (he sent a humorous reply with a few fun photos attached).  

 

Angela and Jimmy picked me up at the airport on Monday night and I was delivered to Jimmy’s place to pick up my sweet ride, the Bible Bus. I was able to briefly meet Jimmy’s family and then I followed Angela about 25 minutes north to Princeville to the Condo I was blessed with for my three nights.

 

On Tuesday morning Jimmy and I met at his church in Anahola.  I asked him to share about Anahola and about the ministry.  Jimmy is a REMAX agent to pay the bills (I can tell he really enjoys doing this as well, he’s a people person), but it was evident he is quite passionate about the students in his group and the community of Anahola.  In meeting Jimmy at his church I really thought he was going to be a help to me in giving me names of folks I could contact around the island.

 

 

However, after his sharing for about 10 minutes about Anahola, his students who attend Anahola Baptist Church (ABC) and his passions, I knew that Youthmark needed to partner with him/ABC!  So, essentially, with one team coming to Hawaii and with the one place confirmed, I could hit the beach the rest of the time and call it good.  But God had other plans (and really, I knew I would be doing more).

After I share my heart/vision and a time of prayer Jimmy and I toured around Anahola and then had a great lunch at a BBQ place in Kapaa. After lunch Jimmy went back to his real job and I hit the town of Kapaa in search of wi-fi and conversations.  This became the theme for the rest of my trip (Kauai Contacts Part 2 will follow later).

 

Later that night I had the honor of going to ABC youth group.  I think there were six students and then Jimmy, Daniel and Jen as leaders.  Daniel and Jen are 6 months into marriage and are leading the students on their Tuesday night Bible Study (studying Titus).  Jen led us in a couple songs on her Uke and then Daniel led the study before we broke into a guys discussion group and gals.  I was blessed to have been with this group.  They will team well with the team coming to Kauai.  Looking forward to sharing more, but here are some pics of Anahola and where ministry could take place…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pray for the ministry of ABC, for Jimmy, Daniel, Jen and the others working with these great teens in this very needy community (more on that later too)!

Grace,
Brian

Aloha from Kauai.  As some of you read this I will be stepping off an overnight flight from Lihue, Kauai in the beautiful state of Hawaii. I return to Seattle early Friday after I have been on Kauai since late Monday night doing my first scout trip for the Youthmark Mission Ventures.  I will post some more about this later today or over the weekend, but thought I’d give a couple highlights before my flight takes off.

Because I was using a BTT (bonus travel ticket) and airline miles for this trip my choice of “when to go” was very limited.  Seeing as how the actual mission trip to Kauai takes place July 24 to August 2, I thought I’d say “no” to Alaska Airlines first offer of mid-August for the scout trip!  They did tell me, “you can go in August… or on Monday.”  This was last Wednesday I believe (just 9 days ago).  So, with that, I talked to my very supportive wife then shot an email to my contact in Hawaii and said, I’m coming Monday!  He said, “sure, come, we’ll put you up, give you ground transportation and take care of some of your meals!”  So, off I went.

I’ll talk the ministry specifics and the contacts I made in my later post.  But, here is what Jimmy hooked me up with to drive!

 

I received a few funny looks when I pulled this baby into the LDS church lot.  For some reason they tried to add on to it?  Hmmm.  Sorry, cheap (but funny shot, I think).  Okay, no Mormon lot, but did get some great looks and started a few conversations because of this ride.

The condo, yes, a condo, they put me up in was very nice (thank you Pychas).  And Jimmy (my contact) and Angela (our family friend) both gifted me with groceries as well.  I think when all is said and done, I will have spent about $50 on this trip (I am filling up the gas on the way out, gas out here is still about $2.50).  

More on Hawaii to come (the true Ministry Post).

Grace,

Brian