Developments surrounding the 16th of June

Mamelodi, Pretoria, South Africa. I’m hanging out in the township. It’s here that immigrants first settle as they cross over the northern border. It’s here that they look for work and hope of new beginnings. The kids play in the streets and look up at the shiny Mercedes rolling past. New multi-level houses sit adjacent to tin roofed huts. Garbage litters the streets but the wrought iron fences of the rich keep the manicured lawns pristine. This is home to 2 million souls. It is here that the church fights for the Kingdom. It’s not easy and sometimes it gets sticky, but it’s beautiful.

God has answered some prayers in a rocking awesome style (which is His trademark). I’ve been praying about Bali for some time now and it was this big mysterious vacuum of planning (totally not my fault. I have everything planned out all the time). But I’ve been praying that God would set some stuff up before I left for Indonesia. A big answer to prayer came as I found a huge book store and found all of the required reading that has yet to be done for the courses that I am taking now. When I saw these books I was screaming at the top my lungs. The ladies at the bookstore had to pry those church planting books out of my hands and sit me down. God also brought an old family friend back into my life. Allan Grieg runs Africa Revolution, an internship program that reaches out to the poor, needy, and HIV/AIDS populace. He really hooked me up when I arrived here in Pretoria. I was invited to some really neat local gathers and funneled into the local church immediately. Through Allan I was able to meet Pastor Vincent who took me on a tour of Mamelodi (the name means Mother of Melody) and shared background information on the history of the community and the local church. I’ve been praying to get connected with believers like these.
There is some serious craziness coming my way. I’m flying out of the country tomorrow and just found out that Indonesia doesn’t grant 90 day tourist visas…they only do 30 days. I already bought a ticket out of the country and it’s way past 30 days. So I’m going to call the Indonesian embassy tomorrow and shoot for a visa within 24 hours of departure. Hectic. If I don’t get the visa then I have to leave the country and then come back in. Which is crazy because Bali is an island in the middle of nowhere.

There are some things that are semi-arranged in Bali. I’ve been communicating with locals on getting connected with a local soccer club to play with. It is imperative that I play competitive soccer for the duration of the summer to prepare myself for Moody season this fall. I have several leads on local teams and one such club is open for play two times a week with a membership fee of only 300,000 Rupiahs (or 30USD). I also have a chance to partner with YWAM. They are going to pick me up from the airport and take me to their leader. The only issue is that it’s super expensive ($17/day). I’ve been living on something like $3-7/day for a couple of weeks now. That’ll be good to connect with guys who have been ministering in that area for a while and they’re knowledge will be an invaluable resource and a great starting place.

THE ULTIMO: I’m going to ask you to pray for something super specific. Something absurd. I want to help plant a church in Bali. Someone somewhere on that little island has to have a moving of the Spirit to plant a church and I want to join that man/woman/child in this mission. I am no longer going to join just any ministry (hey, joining God is the way to go. So it’s not a bad thing), but I want to use my calling in the most specific of manners. Please pray that I connect with a group of local believers who want to start a new work in Bali.

In total:
Pray-
•Soccer team to be finalized
•Visa to get sorted
•Special Bali church plant contact to be found
•Travel mercies

Needs you can meet with American dollars-
•Books for studies ($40 will cover the bill)
•Travel insurance, for if I get hit by a run-away elephant ($85)
•Housing and food ($17/day for 58 days)
•Visas $25 for Bali and $30 for Qatar
•Soccer club membership ($60)
•Tooth paste and tooth brush ($2)
•Flip flops ($4)
•Shoe repair ($5)
•College sponsorship (when I arrive back in the states I will have no money. I also start soccer practice 3 days after I get back to the US, which means I have no time to earn money. My needs are $500/month and that pays for room/board and maybe one book….so it’s bare-bones. I have 6 months of school to pay for and then I’m done with my BA. So if it is in your blessed bones to allow me to fully concentrate on soccer and my final semester of college, I would be one of the happiest guys on the planet. If I don’t get the funds then I may have to sell my body to science by doing a clinical drug study to make the cash [I’ve done it before. Will do it again]. I am blessed to have come this far without incurring any debt)

Wants you have no obligation to meet-
•Scooter rental $3/day (I gotta get to soccer practice. Don’t make me walk halfway across the island)
•Soccer boots/shin guards $80
•Cell phone airtime $20

Thanks so much for keeping me lifted up in prayer. I’m super psyched about what God is doing and I can’t wait to see what God is showing you, my friends.