Justice Water with Jamie

I haven't blogged in months and don't have anything extremely fancy to write about, but figured that I might as well put an update up about where I am at, where I'm going, and what the Lord has been teaching me.  It is the weekend before my last 4 finals of the year and is the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday today- a day that I was planning on studying hard through but am feeling a little burned out on school right now.  The school year has been a wild ride, going from wondering what I am doing and why I am in University to loving the opportunity to learn and being thankful that I decided to be obedient to God and to go in this direction.  One of the big privileges this last year for me has been getting to be a part of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship group on campus and getting asked to join the leadership team for next year.  We have had a weekly Bible study this year going through the Parables of Jesus in the first semester and then studying the book of Philippians for the second semester.  It has been so life giving for me to get to study scripture with other believers from the University. 

A big struggle that I have been dealing with this year is how to live as a follower of Christ and to be a light of life in such a different environment than I have been accustomed to over the last few years.  It was very difficult for me to transition at the beginning of the school year and to adjust to daily life back in Canada but it has been something that I needed to deal with and I have seen firsthand the impact of honesty and accountability, of seeking community to be around, and of daily, simple faithfulness to Christ.  It is so key for me to spend time with God daily through prayer, Bible reading, and worship and I've found that oftentimes when I don't set aside a quantity of time with the Lord, I also end up missing on some quality in my walk with Him throughout the day.  This makes sense, that as I spend less time in communication with my God, I also neglect Him in other parts of the day.  I want my life to scream that "I count all things to be loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord" and it seems like a step toward that is through setting aside purposeful time with Him.  I also mentioned to importance of community and accountability and I've found that through the step of humility required of asking other believers around me to watch my life, hold me accountable, and have the tough conversations with me I have an opportunity to grow and to let the Lord work in my life.  Through submission to His body (the church), we are truly submitting to Him.

I am have been so blessed with the opportunity to travel all around the States through the first four months of this year, crossing the border four seperate times since the turn of the year.  It has been awesome to catch up with friends, see what the Lord is doing in different contexts, and see a dear brother get married to an awesome woman of God (what a great wedding, Steve'n'Lex!).  These trips to Idaho, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, and most recently North Dakota have encouraged me and provided great breaths of fresh air and opportunities to step back and look around.  

The next step for me is to finish exams, see my sister get married next weekend, and then to jump right into work for a farmer who I have worked for in the past, an amazing family who have taught me a ton about life-long faith and about hard work, and then to work delivering ice around central Alberta for another previous boss and also another awesome, faithful, and godly man and family who I am truly privileged to work for.  It will be great to get most of the summer outside and working with my hands while getting to learn and develop skills that are quite different than what I do in school.  During the summer, there will be many weddings and hopefully a couple crazy camping trips and it should be awesome to get the opportunity to have a bit of time out of school to re-focus on what God is doing here in Alberta, in me, and what I should be emphasizing and focusing on for this next year.  

If you made it to the end of this essay, congratulations and thank you for your love and prayers. I always covet your prayers and would value prayers for our IVCF team and that we can be a light on the campus for Jesus, for me that I can see what God is doing here and in me, and that I would be faithful with what God has given me and is doing in me now and not just look ahead to some future, perfect, super-Jamie.  

Galatians 5

Talofa, Malo, Ola, Salaam, Salut, and Hello 

After two years of working with Youth with a Mission all around the world, I am now in Edmonton, Alberta, have been here for over two weeks already, and will be around this area Lord willing for the next two school years.  I am taking third year classes at the University of Alberta toward my teaching degree,after feeling called here to finish it now, focus on family and friends here, and get this task completed.  

I have been exceptionally blessed to get to work with Youth With a Mission for the last two years and earnestly hope and trust that I will spend more time working with some of the incredible people that I've gotten to work alongside in the future.  I saw what it looks like to daily and wholeheartedly follow Jesus through many people around me, through the way that they've conciously decided that God's plan is more important that theirs, that His name deserves to be spread above theirs, and that storing up treasures where moth and rust really don't destroy is better than materialistic idolatry (whoops... I said it).  God has brought some amazing friends into my life; Stephen, Jordan, Marco, Jordan, Cole, Tomas, Annie, Lindsay, Dax and Rach, Sean, Lucas and Grace, Kolin, Stephen, Zach, Ryan and Steph, Caleb, Papa Bear, Craig, Jon, Sara, Dale, Jojo, Philipson, Liaina, and so many more.  I am so thankful for all of you, for the examples that you've been, the way that you've sharpened me and spurred me on towards godliness.  

Now being in Edmonton, I get the amazing priviledge of being in a community consistantly and getting to practice this mission stuff that we've been teaching about and talking about so much while in an area that I am so familiar with but also so used to.  This is where I get to walk with Jesus because I want to follow Him and because He is truly worth it- whether it is my job or not.  I want for people who are around me to know that I really 'count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ...'  I've preached, pleaded, and talked about how I say that Jesus is the most valuable thing or person in the universe and that nothing can compare to His intrinsic value (and it isn't close) but now am feeling challenged to let it be more than just nice words in my life.  This should shape the way that I look at school, friends, the lost, work, my life, and all things and practically should change the way that I speak, act, and interact with the world.  Wouldn't it be such a shame to say that we follow this almighty, absolutely worthy God and yet only give Him our leftovers and, as a result, look exactly like the rest of our world.  We will be the 'salt of the earth' and 'light of the world' if we really can look at this world as just a step on the road of eternity, at trial as pure joy because of the promises of God, and at our lives of no value compared to the excellency of Him!  'For to me, to live is Christ and to die is GAIN.  But if I am to live on in the flesh, this WILL mean fruitful labour for me...'  I am going to hang onto that!

Well I guess that I've ranted a good amount for now.  If anyone is in Alberta and would like to meet up in the next few months, let me know.  I would love to see some of you guys, to hear what's been happening around here and to reconnect.  I'm blessed to have such great friends, family, and support.  

In our GLORIOUS Lord,

Jamie

It has been a while! I have been in Central Asia for most of the last 3 months and then got to have almost 2 weeks in Kona before flying down to Samoa to help staff another Discipleship Training School for the summer. We have the amazing opportunity of getting to train up a group of about 30 westerners and islanders in knowing God and how to make Him known! I will get around to that but first would love to get to talk about my Soviet time a bit.

During my time leading this last outreach, God showed us a lot about His consistency, about the value and necessity of prayer, about what role unity plays on a team, and about how to properly lead people. I was so blessed to lead a group of 5 students along with an amazing co-leader on a 10 week DTS outreach into a closed country in Central Asia. We had the opportunity to share who Jesus is through conversation, building projects, teaching classes, and eating a LOT of food! Our team felt like God was emphasizing joy, unity, prayer, hard-work, consistency, and compassion. It was incredible how he used these as pieces to mark our team. An example of joy was that when we first moved into the town, it seemed like everything was dull and dead to us. As we consistently lived in unity within the village and “in lowliness of mind esteemed others above ourselves,” we saw people come to smile whenever they saw us and we tangibly seemed to bring joy wherever we went. We emphasized showing love in whatever ways we could, from running a kindergarten in a different language, to digging a six meter latrine, to praying with people, to getting to cook meals for friends that we made. It was incredible to show the love of Christ in both words and actions and see how foreign of a concept. The Lord opened up many opportunities to talk about who He truly is through simply being consistent with who we were, who we said He is, and how we treated others. It was an incredible opportunity to see Him emphasize words beforehand and then to look back and see that those words were the linchpins of our impact. Once again, I got to see the power of prayer in a tangible way, with one example being the roof of a mosque that we prayed often around falling sideways, which we thought showed that Islam no longer held the absolute hold over the town. Before moving on, I want to shout out to Annie Rollins for being an absolutely incredible co-leader through consistently looking ways to serve everyone and always walking in kindness and wisdom. We were privileged to lead Westin Reynolds, Stephen Bathurst, Kolin Schinell, Gracie Carroll, and Baktaghoul Osment. They are incredible men and women of God who showed what it means to “bear with one another in love”, to champion each other, and to look for ways to bless others around them.

After this awesome outreach, I got to fly back to Kona for about 12 days of debrief time, with my team, the school, our staff team, and MY MOM! It was great to see all these people and was especially sweet to see mom after quite a while since the last time. We got to have some very enjoyable talks and spend some time just chilling together and I think that both of us really appreciated it. It was amazing to get some time with the staff team again also; they were one of the most inspirational people who I’ve ever spent time with. They love the Lord with everything, are willing to act this out daily, and see that loving God entails loving others. I was constantly called higher by them and will miss them tremendously. The Engage DTS was one of the best seasons of my life and a season where I got to see another example of what great Christian community looks like and that serving the Lord truly is the “life abundant” that is promised in scripture. I look forward to seeing these people again and seeing what the Lord has done through them to change many people’s lives.

Now I have the opportunity to be in Samoa! I briefly mentioned that I am staff for a Discipleship Training School here for the next two months. This week we got to learn about the “Father Heart of God” and I got to see many students impacted heavily by coming to see that God is truly a good father and that he does not have all the same inconsistencies as our earthly fathers inevitably have (except mine haha) but that he is consistently good, faithful, and involved with us. “He will NEVER leave nor forsake you…” I am excited to see the Lord continue to show his value, his love, and why He is truly worth all of us. We are in for a fun ride!!

In Christ,

Jamie

Check out Psalm 19

What a blessing to get to be a part of this wild ride with such a radical, excited, God-loving group of people! I have loved getting to spend the last ten weeks in Kyrgyzstan, getting to see a completely different part of God’s world. It has been stunning to see such love built between a bunch of white westerners and our new Kyrgyz friends. I can safely say for everyone that love crushes language and cultural boundaries and builds relationships that point to our heavenly Father. Jesus says in John 13:34-35 – “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” For me, getting to see the reactions of deep sadness to us leaving showed me that living in and showing true love really did make lasting, eternal impact. It seems to me like the more we can show love to others and truly “look out not only for our interests, but also the interests of others,” the more we have an influence, and this outreach has showed me a really cool example. - James Boyce

“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God” – (Psalm 86:9-10.) He is so worthy of praise from all of His people. God loves Kyrgyzstan. He loves the people of Molovodne and He cannot wait until the day where His name is praised from that place. He has given us His heart for the nation as a whole, and He has shown us how committed He is to each heart…each individual. He has blessed us and chosen us to be a part of His story for Kyrgyzstan. He put people in our path so specifically that we are privileged to be able to call our friends. He has been so faithful opening doors and opportunities for us to tell and show people who Jesus really is and how much He loves them. Whether it was by playing basketball and jump rope, sitting for hours drinking cups of tea, digging a hole for a toilet, leading a church service, or preparing and sharing a massive feast with friends…God really gave us ways to show Jesus to people in ways they could relate to and understand. It has been such a joy to get to do this. I am so thankful that we can rejoice and trust in God’s faithfulness, and that His promises are Truth. He was in Molovodne long before we were, He prepared the way, He walked with us step by step the whole time, and as we leave He will continue to pursue their hearts and reveal Himself to them. He is worthy and He loves them so much. - Annie Rollins

I would like to thank the Academy for nominating me for this award. I was quite surprised to be nominated to be honest; looking at my compatriots and all the others who were nominated for this award I think that they all are worthy to be standing where I am now standing. I honour them. Many people got this little independent project of ours off the ground and I would like to bring them to the attention of the Academy. A big shout out must go to Grace and The Call, these two great friends of ours who started us on this journey in the first place, A Desire to Save and A Heart For the Lost, both of you deserve a mention. Prayer, you Sir, provide us with all the energy and special help we needed, thank you. Compassion: a sterling effort Madame. Well done you. Honour! You honoured us, thank you. A special shout to the parental units, the M and M’s for providing vital project funding: the jiving Crowes, EVJ Bathurst and his good lady wife, Tracey, the Church of the Trinity and the funked-out bobcat. All deserve an exceptional mention for prayerful and financial support. Thank you. The extended family Bathurst: Holler! Finally to our wonderful director, without whom I would not be standing here today: this was your inspiration and your vision, all we did was carry it out. Take a bow Father, Son, and Spirit. Take a bow. - Stephen Bathurst

During outreach God told me a lot of things. He also used me in big ways. I would like to use this time I have to tell you a little of how God used me in Kyrgyzstan. God showed me that He loves people that are different in vast ways. It was a good reminder that God loves people I have never even thought about. God showed me that He is never changing and that I shouldn’t rely on myself but rely in Him and Him alone. Even the little things matter. The small things make a big impact in the Kingdom of heaven and can change things for the better. Thanks for all the love and support. - Westin Reynolds

As some of you may know, this was my first mission trip I have ever been on. It was the most amazing, exciting, stretching, and humbling experience. Learning and being a part of a different culture, language, and people was such a privilege. God chose us. Out of the entire world, He chose us to go to Kyrgyzstan and live in the village of Molovodne. Not only did God provide for us and remain faithful, but He also blessed us with the most amazing friends and family here. I know only a tiny bit of how much my Father loves me and other people. His heart and His love for these people are so big. He gave me His heart for this country and I am so incredibly thankful to be a part of it. I’ve realized how much it’s not about me, it’s about Him and He is so worthy of it all. "Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess…" I’m so thankful that we serve a God that is almighty and all-powerful. We can’t do anything on our own but we can depend on Him. His promises are true. Leaving this place has been one of the hardest things I have ever done, but God has given me such comfort in knowing that He will always be with them, He has never given up on them, and He wont stop fighting. - Grace Carroll

This entire trip to Kyrgyzstan has been a life changing experience. I have realized the value of what can happen if I have fear of God over fear of man. I have physically seen the power of prayer and have experienced the realness of God’s promises. Everyday I am reminded of how desperately I need Him in my life, and it is heartbreaking to see all these people who don’t know Him (yet.) The people of this amazing and beautiful country truly have my heart, because God gave me His heart for them. Sure, I can’t speak to anyone in this country due to the language barrier, but I was called to do a DTS and come to Kyrgyzstan, and if it was only to help bring one person a step closer to God, it was worth it. You might think this entire outreach might not have been productive since we didn’t see a salvation, but I strongly disagree. While here, my amazing team and I have brought the people we have come in contact with one large step closer to God and knowing His ultimate truth, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience in this country. - Kolin Schinnell

Traveling to different countries to share God’s love is the greatest thing I have ever done. “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God” – (Acts 20:24.) Each time I go somewhere, I get the Father’s heart for His people and the nations. It’s hard pouring out His love on people knowing I will become attached to the people and the place, and then having to leave without a piece of my heart. It is a piece I will never get back. But God is so faithful, and He continues to give me more of His love and compassion regardless of how much I pour out. No matter how many weeks, months, or years pass, I will always remember the time I spent two and a half months in Kyrgyzstan fulfilling the work my Father set before me – I will hold in my heart the people, names, and faces that I have grown to love. What an honour - He has blessed me beyond anything I could ever hope for - connecting with brothers and sisters in Christ in a closed Muslim country. His blood runs deeper than the blood of this world. I will hold onto the promises the Father spoke to me about these people…about this place. I will persevere with the work that continues here even as I get ready to depart. God has been speaking to me about the gravity and the impact of what my team has left in Kyrgyzstan. In redeeming mankind, Jesus retrieved what man had lost through the fall. He declared, “…I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18.) Then He says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20.) In other words: I got it all back. Now go use it and reclaim mankind. I have been given the keys to the Kingdom – “And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven” – (Matthew 16:19.) This is the authority to trample over the powers of hell and plunder the pits of hell – “Look I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you” – (Luke 10:19.) In Isaiah 22:22 it says, “I will give him the key to the house of David – the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.” And in Revelation 3:7 – “…This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open…” The powers of the key of David consisted not only in deciding who was and who was not to be received into the King’s service. All the Father has is mine through Christ. His entire treasure house of resources, His royal chambers, is at my disposal. But the serious part of this truth is found in regulating who gets in to see the King. This is what I do with the Good News. When I proclaim it, I give opportunity for people to come to the King to be saved. When I am silent, I have chosen to keep those who would hear away from eternal life. It is a costly key for me to use. But, it’s even more costly to bury it and not obtain an increase for the coming King. My team has been faithful. We have stepped out. We have proclaimed the Good News. We have opened the door for our new friends, and as they continue on their quest for truth, Christ will draw them through it. - Ansley Ozment

Aloha from Kona!

Last night was the love feast for our 2013 Engage Discipleship Training School- essentially our last big meal together before sending everyone off on outreach for three months.  It has been an amazing school in which I have seen lives transformed by the love of God, people coming in who were in the depths of inner darkness have seen the light of Christ peel off layer after layer of pain and turmoil and seen it replaced by "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."  This has likely been the busiest season of my life because of getting to be full time (literally) staff with this DTS while still working with Justice Water and getting to do some teaching of our Ripple Effect class.  I have come to see how much I love having such a full schedule- it seems like whenever I look back on the previous week I can see how much my work was enjoyable, fruitful, and deeply meaningful.  

Yesterday was an amazing day- we got to baptize 31 students in the ocean at a public beach where I got to talk to a local dude about what was happening the whole time!  We started the day with thanksgiving, got to see the girls in our class encounter God as a loving Father in a touching way, had a massive time of giving where everyone's outreach fees got covered, and ended it with that Love Feast, a time of tremendous testimony of what the Lord has done, awesome food, ridiculous, off the wall, unhinged, bonkers dancing (seems to be a theme throughout the school), and genuine fellowship.  The Holy Spirit encountered many students and showed who He truly is and when we get that He actually is a friend and has the best for us, life changes!  After all, Jesus said it was better that He left so that we could have the Spirit.  

In 5 days, I get to lead a team of 7 to Asia!  It is getting very exciting to think that so soon, outreach begins!  I have loved being here in Kona but am certainly itching to get to practically start doing what we have been learning about here for the past two and a half months.  It will be nice for me to get to move on from this planning stage and get into the actually moving stage.  This quarter, we have started doing Tuesday and Thursday morning 'training mornings' and I think that they will make a tangible impact on the success of our outreach.  We have had teachings on sanctification, quiet times, church planting, repentance, and many other topics that have been tremendously practical and have given us real tools to use to see lives changed.  These training mornings have made me think of some teachings that I would love to do or help with in churches or youth groups back home!  Of course, our team has been trained in how to do some simple water technology projects and we hope to have the opportunity to build a latrine or some biosand filters.  

The topics of this school week by week were as follows: Hearing God's voice, The Nature and Character of God, The Cost of Radical Discipleship, To Know God, To make Him Known, Sin, Repentance, and Freedom, Bible Overview and Worldview, The Kingdom of God- Honour and Reconciliation, Jesus the Word, Sure Foundations (Spiritual Disciplines), Spiritual Warfare, and Holy Spirit.  We were all deeply impacted by certain teachings and had specific points really stand out to us but I really enjoyed talking about the cost of actually following Jesus, the importance of having a biblical worldview, spiritual disciplines (why we actually take time to pray, read the Word, memorize, meditate, and fast).  Also, this quarter I have really emphasised reading other books in my spare time and have found some AMAZING books to read.  I would highly recommend Intimate Friendship with God by Joy Dawson, Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, How Now Shall we Live by Chuck Colson, Hooked on the Word by Ron Smith, and Beautiful Feet by Danny Lehman.  I heard a really good quote by Will Smith recently, he basically said that the secret to success is 'Read and Run'.  Interesting to note that most problems that we think we have usually have been solved before- hence, read- and that with discipline built in you will actually do things important- hence, run.  

Thank you all so much for your support, both financially and in prayer.  I now have paid for my outreach fully, so I'm going!  As we go, please keep us in prayer, for hearts to be soft to the gospel, for opportunities to share and serve, for meaningful relationships to invest into, for favor with visas and travelling, and for our team to be marked by our love and unity for each other.  Here is our team's mission statement; "To know and love God intimately and to glorify Him through our actions, words, and unity in relationships with a spirit of thanksgiving."  

God bless you guys and thank you for reading!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G8ZMYEk5M4&sns=em (our recent Justice Water promo video- I also had a more personal one made and it will be posted soon)

Lamentations 3:27 (there's a different type of verse than usual!)

We have finished week 1 of the Engage DTS and it was excellent!  The Lord really seems to be moving quickly in this school- we had a heavy call to holiness when learning about hearing the voice of God and I think that all of us felt called to a much higher standard.  Most of the students have been stretched and transformed already, felt strange, excited and nervous about what is coming, and understand that their live is never going to be the same!  We all ended the week being able to hear God's voice much more clearly and understanding that He really does speak to all of His children- anyone with saving faith in Jesus Christ as both savior and Lord. 

I got to teach on Stewardship yesterday for half an hour in class and it was great- first of all for teaching me about stewardship and secondly for getting to practice teaching in a relatively easy environment- just our Engage DTS school.  I focused on giving up rights while taking on responsibility and on making our conduct match our calling.  "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven." -Matthew 5:16.  I focused on the parable of the shrewd manager (or steward) and how he was looking kinda long term but as Christians we should be focusing our money and efforts on true long term investments- investments for the kingdom.  I really had to rush- had way to much content for the time but I think that it went fairly well.  

Thank you guys for your prayers that I would be able to truthfully and fearlessly proclaim the gospel.  Today a bunch of the students are going to come evangelizing with us and my plan is to stand on the ocean wall on Alii Drive and read the Bible aloud- should be pretty sweet!  I believe in the transformative power of the Bible and am excited to see if any hearts are stirred.

I've been reading a book recently called "Hooked on God's Word" by Ron Smith and have been blessed to learn about meditating on the word.  Throughout my life, I have often taken time to read the Bible but have very rarely actually mulled on what is being said.  He used the analogy of chewing the cud (like cows) and that is one great way to approach the Word.  Keep replaying a verse or chunk in your head throughout the day and it will become much richer- how does this fit in my life, what is he trying to say here, where was this happening, does this change how I do something in my life...?  Today, I am going to be chewing on Romans 8:18-19; "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed."  It is awesome to read a bigger section and then to really hone in on a chunk so you get the context and situtation and then also suck the marrow from the verse.  Psalm 1 talks about how a person who meditates on the Word will be "like a tree planted by streams of living water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers."  I love how the analogy of a tree fits so well with our life- if you were to watch a tree grow for a day or a week, you wouldn't notice any difference, but leave it for 2 years while it is constantly nourished and watered and the difference will be significant!  

Please keep praying Ephesians 6:19-20 for me "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.  I will post a few pictures of my teaching from yesterday.  I love you guys,

Jamie

Our first lecture of the Engage DTS 2013 was yesterday and we are now into the school!  Donna Jordan from Medicine Hat is speaking this week about "Hearing the Voice of God" and it is fantastic to have a woman who so lives what she teaches in our class.  I have gotten to know a few of the students fairly well thus far and am so excited about who we have- they are honestly fantastic.  Please be praying Ephesians 6:19-20 for me.  "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador [not currently in chains].  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."  A few of us have been trying to go out evangelizing fairly regularly and sometimes I feel fairly tongue tied (which isn't very common for me haha) so would really appreciate prayers for boldness and that the Lord will speak through me.  This applies to our one on one times with students also, some of the stuff that we talk about is stuff that I really have to rely on the Lord for wisdom in.

Last night, we had a night of worship in the prayer room and the Lord healed over 30 people!  Some of the injuries were small things like sore backs or knees, but there were a few healings like scoliosis being healed and a meniscus that had been badly injured being healed (and that guy and I went for a walk afterwards and he was doing totally better).  Praise God eh!  

I have been doing a study on Amos lately and have been struck by how many similarities I see between our current culture in North America and Israel/Judah during the time of Amos.  This isn't really the most encouraging parallel as within 30 years Israel was permanently dismantled by Assyria and Judah went into exile 140 years after Israel.  Amos was a shepherd- not a professional prophet by any stretch- and the Lord showed him what wickedness Israel was walking in and what they had to do for repentance.  It starts out by pointing out the evil of Israel's neighbors only to jump into the stuff that Israel was doing- basically putting all their pagan neighbors to shame.  A few analogies that have stood out to me are "...you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy..." (4:1), "Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more.  Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years... boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do..." (4:4-5), and "You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground." (5:7).  He then harps even more about their sloth and complacency in chapter 6, emphasising how useless their entitlement is when they are allowing people to starve while they live in wickedness and pride.  It is really cool though, how God always leave a way for redemption, saying "Seek good, not evil, that you may live.  Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say He is.  Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.  Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph." (5:14-15).  When we are walking as God's chosen people, His church and bride, we are also called to be His hands in a hurt and dark world and to show his love to draw the world to repentance and to relationship with Jesus.  

My brain sorta burnt out there so that is the end of that thought for now.  I hope that everyone who reads this is doing really well, I am so blessed to have you guys supporting me.  Please be praying Ephesians 6:19-20 for me.  Love you all,

Jamie

Hey everyone,

I will be working with the Engage DTS here in Kona in January and thought that you guys might want some information about what I will be doing and what my role will be.   http://www.uofnkona.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=677&Itemid=745&lang=en  That is a link to the school bio on the UofN Kona website.

So basically, for the next 6 months I get to be a part of a Discipleship Training School while still running with Justice Water!  I will get to be a part of the students' lecture phase through sitting in their lectures with them, teaching our Justice Water course in their school, doing one on ones with some of the guys, going out evangelizing with them, working in the community together, and basically just living life together.  After lecture phase, I will get to lead an outreach team where we will be taking a team to a developing country and focus on showing God's love through evangelism, mercy ministries, and training.  All in all, I get to be a part of such a life transforming time for a bunch of students and help point them towards God's call on their life- pointing out strengths that they have, working through our tough stuff together, and simply following the Lord in community.  I am excited for this but also recognize that it will be a crazy season!!  Please keep me in prayers, that I will be chasing God wholeheartedly, that I have God's perspective on the students, and that since I am being given some authority that I walk in true humility.  Philippians 2:3-4 says "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."  Right after this, it shows how Jesus was our example of what humility really looks like.  

I want to hear how you guys are and will be home for 5 days around Christmas.  It would be great to catch up on what God is doing at home and in everyone's lives.  Be blessed and lets remember the magnificence of Christ in this Christmas season.  He is so good and so faithful guys, He really does provide and has been radically providing for me lately and proving Himself over and over to me- both financially and spiritually.  

Jamie

I am happy to report that I am back in Kona after a few weeks of teaching, one in Orlando and two in San Pedro! We were blessed to meet with some really awesome people, many who were psyched about Justice Water and quite a few ministry opportunities were opened up for schools to teach in and people to work with. It was awesome to work with such great students and staff and see people really buy into the vision of Justice Water- using water technology as a tool for discipleship and bringing the gospel. Now I will be in Kona for the next month and a half or so- focused on teaching Justice Water in the Discipleship Training Schools and in the Foundation School (the school for the students of older DTS students). All of these students will get to go on outreach within the next two months and will get to use the tools that we are teaching them in the near future.

It has been exciting time for me in terms of options that have opened up and ideas for the next year or two. Options have opened up for January to either be staff in a DTS here in Kona with a Justice Water focused outreach team or to go back down to Haiti and work with some DTS teams that will be working there and helping to establish the regional team for the Caribbean and South America. Both seem like great options to me and I will be praying to see where the Lord is leading me over the week. Also, I am contemplating what to do for the next section after that. Currently, I am leaning towards coming home for some time in next summer but have also thought about the possibility of running with a DTS school that will be run in Samoa over the summer and establishing a Justice Water presence in Samoa/ the South Pacific region. Once again, I will be praying about this in the next few weeks and would appreciate if you guys could be praying for me about that too.

I was blessed to get to go on a camping trip with the guys from the Compassion Ablaze DTS this weekend and remembered how much I love DTSs and the transformation that takes place during them. There is such value in true discipleship and the impact that it has in lives. I have seen over and over in the last few months how a really impactful Christian life generally doesn't come simply from knowing the proper words or how to do something special but instead it comes from fully submitting all areas of our lives to Jesus and letting Him work through us in all areas. That spills over into our relationships and interactions and has a genuine impact on people around us. This is what I love so much about the DTSs- seeing this take place in so many people's lives together and the growth. We are all created to love seeing rebirth and redemption.

This was a pretty scattered post- ended up being put together over a few days so I would love to hear some questions from everyone and also just hear how you all are.

Romans 12:9-16

After an awesome month back in Alberta, I am back working with Justice Water!  I am currently outside of Mobile, Alabama having a team retreat and planning for our time teaching next week in Orlando and in two weeks teaching in San Pedro.  It was such a blessing for me to get to spend time with people back at home who I really care about but haven't been able to see much in the last year.  Getting to work on the farm by Youngstown and see so many people who have had such an impact in my life was incredible and the highlight of my time there was the nights spent hanging out with my closest friend, Ethan.  I didn't decide anything about the future while I was at home but I sure did see how important it is to have work to be doing or at least something to be driving you forward because I found it easy to be a little directionless while in Red Deer.  

In the next few months, I will be doing a lot of teaching Justice Water material, in Orlando, the Dominican Republic, and in Hawaii.  I am very exctited to be back in Hawaii in a month and to get to see so many friends.  One lesson that my time with YWAM has taught me is the value of friendships and that often times, the location of where you are is less important than the people who are there with you (which is one of the reasons why I have loved working with Justice Water so much).  

If you guys are praying for me, I will be trying to make some future decisions in the upcoming month- mostly in regards to what happens next for me come next spring.  I would love to be able to give some answers when I am asked what my plans are.  I know that often the Lord shows us one step ahead or so and am comfortable with following His path but I guess that I am looking for the next step right now.  I would also love to hear from you guys- how I can pray for you, what is happening back home, and if you have any encouragment or comments for me.  

Jamie

Hebrews 1: 1-4