As you know I have the privilege of working within our Field Support team for our Real Life and Ambassador teams. This means I get to spend time with our leaders of mission trips that range anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months long. I see them when they first arrive to leader training, I spend time with them throughout the week as they're with their teams, and I get to talk to them weekly while they're on the field. It's one of my favorite things in the world seeing these leaders COME ALIVE as they pour into their teams.
Today I read this blog by Jordan McGuffin, one of our fearless team leaders. As I read this blog I had another one of those moments where I had a confirmation of what I do and I literally said outloud, "THIS is why I do what I do!"
"Its the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something."-Crash-
My friend Kelly Chadwick (If you don’t know who she is yet, you will one day, because she is leaving a huge mark on this world) Anyway Kelly introduced me to some new terminology recently. She came up with the phrase skin craving, “A psychological term to describe the body’s need for physical touch. When the need becomes great enough, we fill it by subconsciously brushing against other people in order to fill the craving.”
I have the privilege and HONOR, to go to Bolivia with a group of 12 high school students tomorrow. We have been at a training camp for almost a week now, and what I am seeing in myself, in my co-leaders, and in my 12 students are "skin cravings" physical and spiritual. There has been a huge lack of physical touch, spiritual touch, physical love, and spiritual love in this group of students.
I get the opportunity to be that touch in so many of their lives over the next three weeks. Where people have left them, where people have avoided them, where peers have made fun of them, I am coming in to run to them and stay, intentionally “bump” into them, and build them up with the words their Heavenly Father speaks over them. Each of my students has a huge calling on their life. Each one has a destiny. Each one is needed.Each one is God’s Plan A! Each one has something to offer this world. I believe in them, but more importantly they are going to discover just how much God believes in them!
I have only known this group for about three days, and already something has come ALIVE in me that I didn’t even know was dead. There is apart of me that is more ALIVE than ever before. There has not been a better season in my life, than right now! These students have A LOT to do with that. I think in the deepest part of me I had a craving. On the surface it was a skin craving, but on the deepest part of my soul I had a spiritual craving for something more, to feel something more. These next three weeks are going to launch us into the depths of God’s love. I know that we are about to CRASH into what our souls are CRAVING.
We're in the midst of another training camp here in Gainesville, GA. This group is made up of 88 high school students and 21 leaders who are preparing to spend their summer in places like Puerto Rico, Belize, Kenya, Uganda, Bolivia, Thailand, Mexico, and Nicaragua. I'm convinced that they are absolutely going to change the world!
So tonight I was standing in a room with all of these awesome folks and we were worshipping. As we started worship we spent some time asking God what He was saying to us. As I stood there I kept hearing God speak one phrase over and over again to me...
"I never disappoint."
Over and over and over and over again He says this one phrase. It's not so much Him saying this to disprove that I think He would ever disappoint me...it's more of Him reminding me of this promise He's given me.
I'm pretty sure that's one of God's favorite things to do...remind his kids of the promises He's made...reminding our hearts that He's faithful and true.
I'm finding myself in this place where I'm constantly in awe of how good He is and of the goodness of this season. I stand here before Him and say, "really God?! are you kidding me?!? Could this get any better??" Then I find myself telling Him how much I love Him and what a good God He is. And it's like I can actually see Him simply smile and His only response is "Kayla, I never disappoint."
Thank you God for who you are!
God, you are not far from me, ever. Matter of fact, I believe you are closer than my own breath.
God, thank you that you give your kids good gifts.
God, thank you that I am always on your mind and you enjoy me being on your mind.
God, you are always good!
I'm not really sure why it is that I'm writing this on my blog tonight. I just felt like perhaps someone else reading this might need to be reminded of God's promises today. I love to be reminded of what God says about me and what He's promised me. He's good.
Well, we just completed another training camp and sent 191 students and 28 leaders to experience God in one of 11 different countries for the next 2 months. Camp was fun and filled with beautiful times of seeing these teams join together and grow closer to God as they prepared to launch to the nations.
Today I read this blog from one of our students who just left. I thought you might like getting a glimpse into her experience as she embarks on this journey...
Experiencing My Unknown
by Courtney Bonones on 6/9/2011
The unknown is such an interesting, simple, beautiful thing. How much of our lives do we spend trying to figure out the unknown? That's exactly where I've been the past few months, only to face the fact that I DON'T NEED TO figure it out... Thats why it's the unknown right?
So, here I am, Real Life Training Camp 2011.
I've never KNOWN diversity like this. I've never KNOWN community like this, I've never KNOWN worship like this. I've never KNOWN leaders like this, or people, or The Spirit, or God's Voice, or Passion, or movement, or excitement, or compassion, or LOVE like this. ever. before. in. my. life!
There are 191 college-aged students gathered together at one camp for one purpose: to bring the good news to the nations. Tonight we are being asked to sleep under a homemade tarp/tent with people we met only hours ago. We're being asked to be vulnerable with one another right off the bat, asked to push past our comfort zones and everything we may be used to; even related to church, worship, and prayer. I've already done things I have never even heard of or been exposed to before. God is alive in this place and in these people His children. We are all going to different places, but He will be with each of us. He will constantly be speaking to us and through us in 191 individual ways.
I may not know what the next few months, or week, or day, or even the next step looks like, but I'm confident that I don't need to know. Our God is bigger than our unknowns. I will follow.
A few days ago I sat down for a little chat with an acquaintance that would soon become my newest friend. We both ended up at a World Race training camp up in the mountains of Tennessee, and were just chatting one morning over breakfast. We didn’t know each other before this and had only heard each other’s names in our work circles. We talked about life and our experiences living overseas and all of that “normal” stuff. We were just kinda shooting the breeze. So it came as a surprise to me when this person said, “so tell me about this intercession gift you have.” Whaaat?! I thought. Well that’s random. What would make her ask that question? We began talking about this and I realized how quickly I tried to dismiss the idea that I, Kayla Phillips, have anything close to something that would be called a gift of intercession.
And then I found myself thinking through all of this…
I feel like there’s this huge buffet table full of all the different gifts that God has laid about before me, intercession being one of them. But for some reason, just like the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving, I keep passing over it.
Perhaps it’s time I stop passing over that dish. I know God has given me this intercession thing, and I think I operate in it more than I realize or admit. It’s just not one of the gifts that I think I'm good at, so sometimes I tell myself that I don’t have it. Hmmm, I don’t like how that sounds like performance. Sigh.
Perhaps it’s that when I think of intercessors, I think of these larger than life people that have this incredible prayer life and spend hours upon hours sitting in their prayer closet praying, fasting, interceding for people and issues of the world.
For me intercession doesn’t look like this, at all. For me it looks like throughout the day God bringing certain individuals to mind just out of the blue usually. Then if I’m paying attention I’ll ask God what He wants me to pray for them about. Sometimes I know how to pray for them, most of the time I don’t have a clue. But regardless, I pray. This happens in my car on the way to work, at my desk as I’m answering the umpteen million emails, and as I’m walking up the 40 steps to my apartment. It usually happens as this kinda casual conversation God and I have.
But then every once in a while intercession looks different... like there will be something/someone that I feel like I'm just warring for/on behalf of. Like literally going to war to fight for them. It’s something/someone that I can’t get off my mind, that I can’t stop praying for. It’s exhausting and drains me. I don’t know if I like this. But I know when this happens it’s from God and I’m learning how to run with it.
So….intercession for me is like green bean casserole. It’s that dish on the Thanksgiving table that I pass over initially, but then I go back and get some. Right now it’s kind of the dish that I think, oh I probably should get some of that. At first it could almost feel like an obligation thing. Like, Granny is watching who dishes up her green bean casserole and I probably should just take a little spoonful just to be polite….after all she made it herself. So I take some, even though I don’t think I like it. But then when I taste it, I like it and I'm glad I went back for it.
So here’s to embracing ALL the gifts God has for me, even the ones I don’t think I’ll like.
Today I'm sitting outside on the deck reading Adam’s Return by Richard Rohr. The following paragraph stuck out today:
“Lifestyle and relatedness is more important than words, or as Francis of Assisi is supposed to have said, ‘Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.’ We may reach out through media and technology or through our written or spoken message, but we finally transform and initiate each other through who we are. Transformed people tend to transform people. In fact, we tend to be able to lead people only as far as we ourselves have gone.”
This part got me thinking and asking some questions of myself. We transform people through who we are. Who am I today that is transforming those around me? What do I bring to the table in this area? Something in this thought brings peace. Perhaps it’s because it’s really not about performance or what I do, but who I am. I've never been in a place where I feel so free to become who I am. But the places I desire to lead people into requires courage. Courage to go there myself and then share the journey with them. A willingness to embrace vulnerability and share with others what I’m learning, what I’m walking through, my struggles, my victories. This makes me think of past teams I’ve lead and where I’ve seen them grow. This reminds me once again of the importance of leaders and how we can't thrive without them.
It also makes me think of these 9 Real Life leaders that are on various airplanes as I write this. Tonight I will get to see them at Atlanta International Airport, and for the next 2 days I'll get to spend time with them celebrating all that God has done. They’re heading home after spending 4 months of discipleship and ministry with their teams of college-aged students in Kenya, Uganda, Thailand, Cambodia, India, and Nicaragua. These leaders have spent everything they have on these students. They are exhausted yet completely fulfilled. Their stories of victories, trials, freedom, fun, and adventure are ones that only God could create. To say I’m proud of them is a vast understatement.
Our department, Real Life, sends out teams for college-aged, short term mission trips. Teams typically are on the field for two-four months. Our five teams have now been on the field for over two months! Since their launch in January, teams have hit the half way mark, whcih includes a midterm debrief and for two teams, meant a traveling to a new country. Currently we have teams in India, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Kenya, and Uganda.
I want to highlight some of the blogs posted within the past two weeks. If you want to see some of the previous blogs, check out Week 1, Week 2, and Week 8. To see some videos check out, 36 Hours Ago... and Team Kenya. To read other blogs reposted on here, check out the "Real Life" Category.
I'm re-posting this blog which was written this week by Mike Sanders, one of our leaders on the field in Kenya. I LOVE what God is doing in and through these teams. It's crazy!
Holy Spirit Explosion in Hospital - A Must Read
by Michael Sanders
Some demons told him that if he didn't poison himself, they were going to chop him up into pieces with machetes...
"Oh Praise the One
Who paid my debt
And raised this life
Up from the dead"
I sang this over Michael, as he lay there in a coma, moments from
death. There was a tube connected through his nose that was sucking the
poison out of his body. On the floor beneath the hospital bed was a
bag filling with the poison, a thick green substance. He was as good as
dead.
It was my first time visiting the hospital here in Busia. All my senses
were hit with the sound and smell and taste and touch of sickness and
death. It was as thick in the place as a cloud of smoke that rises up
out of the kitchen after you've burnt yet another dinner.
He lay there motionless, unresponsive to any of our prayers, and yet...
we couldn't stop praying. We prayed for about 15 minutes, and our
translator was ready to move on to the next bed. Andy and I made eye
contact, and we both knew - our work wasn't finished. We continued to
pray passionately for this man to come back to life for over an hour.
As we prayed, our prayers became more and more bold, and faith was
shooting up and out the ceiling. One by one, others members of the team
walked over to the bed side and began praying fervently. I prayed for
an "open heaven" over him, and that God would rain down healing upon
him.
Soon there were about 15 people surrounding Michael's bedside, most from
our team but also some people who were in the hospital joined us in our
efforts. We began to worship God loudly and openly in that ward, and
people all around began to pray. Suddenly the wind picked up outside
until the windows were shaking. People rushed over to close the windows
as the storm quickly developed all around the hospital. Soon it was
down pouring rain and the wind was shaking the building. We sang
louder, we prayed with more boldness, and continued our efforts. I kept
calling out to him, "Come alive! Come alive!" After another 30
minutes, we said our final amen.
Ashley and Andy were in tears and didn't want to leave the bedside,
almost out of fear that they would return to hear of Michael's death.
What do you do when you spend it all in prayer and God doesn't show up?
How do you cope with that? I just smiled, and told them it was time to
go. Something inside me just knew he would come back to life, and I
knew it wasn't going to take long.
Sure enough, our team went back the following day and Michael was out of
his coma! He came back to life! The poison left his body (just as we
commanded it to in the name of Jesus) and he was able to speak with the
team about his experience. He told them that he didn't hear the
prayers, but that he felt them! He was going through intense spiritual
warfare, and the enemy wanted him dead. I remember while praying for
him the night before, hearing these voices saying over and over "He's
gonna die, He's gonna die!" Jesus kept saying "He's my son, He's gonna
live!" and so I took Jesus' side. ;)
The second day at the hospital they ministered to Michael, cast some demons out of him, and then he gave his life to Jesus!
SO much faith rose in that place that everywhere the team looked people were praying and worshiping God. The Holy Spirit exploded in that hospital!
Patients with arms raised to heaven, on their knees, family members on
their faces before God. One bed-ridden woman who hadn't walked in over a
month proclaimed faith in Jesus and got up and walked! The nurses told
the team that many people were released to go home the day after we
came and prayed!
It's so simple! You can just pray for an open heaven, proclaim healing
and freedom and life and then Jesus shows up and does it! A man raises
from death back to life, a woman walks for the first time in a month,
and a team of Muzungu's (white people) are walking in greater, bolder
faith! All the glory to God!
I have the privilege and HONOR, to go to Bolivia with a group of 12 high school students tomorrow. We have been at a training camp for almost a week now, and what I am seeing in myself, in my co-leaders, and in my 12 students are "skin cravings" physical and spiritual. There has been a huge lack of physical touch, spiritual touch, physical love, and spiritual love in this group of students.
soon become my newest friend. We both ended up at a World Race training camp up in the mountains of Tennessee, and were just chatting one morning over breakfast. We didn’t know each other before this and had only heard each other’s names in our work circles. We talked about life and our experiences living overseas and all of that “normal” stuff. We were just kinda shooting the breeze. So it came as a surprise to me when this person said, “so tell me about this intercession gift you have.” Whaaat?! I thought. Well that’s random. What would make her ask that question? We began talking about this and I realized how quickly I tried to dismiss the idea that I, Kayla Phillips, have anything close to something that would be called a gift of intercession. 
