Whats our response?

As this is the hottest topic right now, which it defiantly should be I would like to take a few moments to share what I have been prompted with.

Praying for the Nations!! 

So what is our response to all that we are seeing and reading everyday in the news, with the sad news of the attacks in France, in Nigeria, in Beruitt, I could go on. With the earth quake in Japan, with the floods in Brasil, with the Russian Plan coming down, with the Sex trafficking that is happening daily in basically every country, on our own doorsteps? Whats our response??

Well I know that if this was happening in my town, neighbourhood or street I would want to know that there are people in the world who are thinking in me and praying for me and being willing to come and comfort us and take care of us, build us houses, or make us food, give us clothes

For me the news I have been reading over the weekend has been giving me a wake up call of "what are you doing???" How are you helping, how are you loving others? how am I caring for the world that I am apart of?

Praying for IS

I see so much time and effort put in by people writing statuses on Facebook which is fine i have done too, to share the news and this is good, but we need to put things into action when and where we can too!!

Today in our school we had our Compassion in Action moment, we have one every week and we learn and understand all the things in the world that are important on Gods heart, such as Adoption, Taking care of the poor, the prostitutes, children, and we can go on. But today we looked at our response to the sad state of our world right now, with the terrorist attacks around the world and IS causing devastation and pain and hurt.

So whats our response, well you know what we are called into war, we are called to take a stand; to fight against principalities and powers and to proclaim the truth, to pick up our swords and to fight!!

Knowing God and praying form there!!

So with Ephesians 6 in our hearts and the knowledge of Who our GOD is, the word of God in our hands, we stood on this truth that is so strong, powerful and concrete, we walked into battle and we prayers, intercede, spoke life into darkness, spoke freedom into slavery, spoke hope into hopelessness.

This was our response today, maybe we can do more too and we will keep seeking what we can do, maybe we can send clothes to the refugees, maybe we can send workers for the Red Cross and organisations who are helping, encouraging words or care packages, or we can even go and share our time, maybe there is something on our doorsteps we can help in and be a part of to show love, and to work in the opposite spirit of the evil in the world and we can LOVE......

Whats your response??

An active morning praying for our world!!

A Father's Word's....

Last weekend Homes of Hope built a house for a single father who lost his wife to cancer and now has three children to care for on his won. Here is what he said: “I was struggling with nightmares of looking my children or even my own life and I didn't have much hope left. It was in that dark moment when God showed himself to me in my life and I came to know him.

 I’m so ready to see my children with a better place to live. I’ve done all I can do but when I heard you were coming, I knew that they Lord had heard my cries. 

Thank you so much, as a father of my family I am very grateful for your lives and what you’ve decided to do for us. God Bless you” 

We are blessed to be a part of this ministry here in Tijuana, Mexico!! 

This is something so beautiful that Words cannot even explain! 

Each weekend we are receiving teams who come and build a home for a family that is without!! This weekend 3 more families are receiving a home, how many of us reading this have a home and we don't even think of being without a home, with our children and partner, what would we do? where would we even begin? Where do they get food for that meal time? will they be safe tonight? Can they protect their children? 

There are so many families world wide that face these questions every day. What can we do? We can pray, we can see if there is anything that is happening local to where we live that helps provide food, love, a friendly face, a listening ear, somethings these things we consider small can mean the world to others. 

You can't build a house for these precious families without shedding a tear of Thankfulness to God that we get to be a part of bring His hope here in the World! 

Home  of Hope Ministry is amazing, if you want to know more please click on the link below: 

http://www.ywamsandiegobaja.org/homesofhope

David was excited about his new house!! 

Feeling like a tree....

Ever feel like you are a tree? Ever feel like you have to change, be shaped and grown, like a tree that needs to have its branches pruned and cut so that it gets rid of the stuff that is not good, that is dead in order for the new branches to grow and bloom and make something even greater!!

Well thats what I am doing right now and will be doing for the rest of life, but right now I am asking God daily how can I grow as a leader, how can I be more like him, because if there is one leader I will like to be like it will be Jesus, not the Queen (although I really like her a lot), or Obama or whoever else we look at as leaders.

My Bible School studying Nehemiah 

I have been studying for the last number of weeks the book of Nehemiah in the Bible  and it is about a Man that loves God and has lived through the times of Exile but has clung to God, the truth of who God is and has allowed God to shape him. He went through a time of pruning and change of character, to the point that God used him for something very significant and something very great for the nation of Judah and the people if Israel.

Nehemiah was a cup bearer for the Persian King and He heard that his fathers city was in a bad way, it had been burnt and the walls which in these times were the cities defence were in ruins still and the rebuilding of this city and the temple (where Gods presence was to dwell) was not complete and needed to be, so that the People could have somewhere safe to live and rebuild their city and nationals identity at the same time being renewed in heart and spirit by knowing and living in relationship with their God.

In this book, we can see about 19
different qualities of Nehemiah's leadership that are highly admirable and someone that you would want to follow and be lead by, below I will leave a list you can look at yourself.

But he is a man of integrity, of love and patience, he is a man that is selfless, willing to give up his position in the Persian Kingdom to serve his people, he is a leader that is humble and honest. He is one that brings organisation, unity, truth and peace, he protects his people and he creates a place of safety for them.
My bible school here in Mexico have been studying the truth of this book and asking how they can be changed, grown and pruned to be more like Christ, to love, serve and walk like him daily!!

1. Prayed day and night 1v6

2. Identified with his people 1v6

3. Remembered God’s promises ad trusted them 1v8

4. Patience 2v1

5. Took Risks 2v5

6. With God, Gods favour  2v8

7. Kept appropriate secrets 2v11

8. Sacrificed sleep 2v12

9. Analysed facts 2v13

10. People followed him 2v18

11. Wasn’t intimidated ch4,6

12.Works hard 4v23 

13.thought things through 5v7 

14.Generous 5v14.17

15. Wasn’t distracted 6v3

16:No Fear 6v11 

17. Successful 6v15-16

18.Didn’t compromise  13v8,25

19.HUMBLE/humildad !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Compassion in Action......

What place do you receive over 91 students in a day, representing about 20nations all in one place to study the Bible, God; to be transformed in order to being transformation to their communities? 

It's not a normal occurrence for the schools or colleges I was ever in!!

Well in YWAM its normal ha aha aha 

Across the two bases, Tijuana and Ensenada we have started 4 schools; 2 Discipleship Training Schools with 70 students, Bible school with 17 students and Titus teaching school with 4 students.  So september started off with a buzz in the atmosphere and excitement from students to be in a new place ready to learn, be changed and grow in who they are in God, and learn to live like him. 

Well here in Tijuana I am staffing the compassion in Action DTS and we have 41 students and 3 children, we have one family from Columbia with their 3 children, who literally left and sold up their lives and came to the school wanting to go into missions with their whole family. We have 2 married couples; one from the states and one from Mexico, who again left their home, and sold up their belongings to come and seek the Lord and pursue him!! 

Compassion in Action DTS Tijuana!! 

The rest of the school is singles who are radically, eager daily to run after the Lord seek him and His will for their lives. We have a fun mixture of Latinos, Europeans, and Canada and America!! 

Over this next 3 months they will be learning and being a part of the local ministries here in Tijuana and they will be learning to love the people that get ignored on the streets, or the kids and young people that don't have hope!! 

We will be building homes, teaching after school activities, speaking truth, providing food and most of all bring them a hope and a love!! 

Please be praying for these amazing students that have taken a massive step of Obedience so they can be transformed and they can go out into the nations and serve and love!! 

25th Anniversary......

Last weekend, something amazing happened here in Tijuana, Mexico!!

We Celebrated 25years of the Homes of Hope ministry, building houses for families here in Mexico that are in great need for homes.
This was a small idea about a year ago and last week it came about, we didn't know quite how it would all come together as it seemed impossible to build 25 Homes in one weekend but God is bigger than our thoughts....
So we Celebrated in style....

We are latino at heart so we celebrated with a big party for 3 days!! For 2 days about 400 or more people came form different places, who have been involved in Homes of Hope in the past and we hosted them and we all went out and built 25 Homes for the families and we did this in 2 days!!
Usually a busy weekend build is 8 Houses, but we managed to do 25 houses!!!

This was crazy but so much fun to be a part of this event!!

Knowing that 25 families received homes and that we can celebrate the 5,000 homes that have been built over the last 25years here in Tijuana Mexico!!

Homes of Hope started with one man that was obedient to God and said yes i will build that family a home  they need one, so when Sean went and built this home for a family in need, he took his family to, His daughter was very young and was playing with the local children and saw that they didn't have a home either and said "Daddy can we build this family a home too?" This was the beginning of the last 25years of Homes of Hope that started in 1990!!

God is faithful to one mans obedience, who saw a need and met it!!

We ended our celebration of sunday with 800-1000 gusts come to our home here in Tijuana and celebrate with us, what God has done!! We had children from the local school come and sing, the children fem our ministries come and dance and sing too...

We had music, the nationals anthem, special guests, pastors from all over Tijuana, we had visitors from Hawaii, Costa Rica, you name it everywhere!!

Homes of Hope Tijuana grew so much that we also run Homes of Hope international, so we are growing and building homes in more than 10 other countries too!!

It's amazing what God does when we say "Yes"!!!

So heres to the Next 25 years of Homes of Hope ministry who knows what is next!! 

Humbled once again!!

When I watch this short clip I am humbled, I am reminded of what a father is, a selfless person who put his kids heart and desires above himself, who loves greatly, who sees and cares for the one in front of him before himself!!

For me this is an example to me of what God is like to me, sometimes we can see him as a massive God up in the sky and so unreachable for us to have relationship with him, but this video reminds me what God is really like to me, he is personal, he is kind he is selfless, he is not putting himself above others, he is loving, giving, generous, righteous, he cars for his kids (thats us) 

I will just leave you with these thoughts I have had this week and how I am humbled that a all powerful all knowing, the created can be so personal and know me so so well!!! 

Really the Cross??!!!

Yes really the cross!!

Today I was reminded of what Jesus did on the cross for me specifically and for each one of us!! I think recently I have had material things stolen from me and that has been a frustration and difficult but when I think on it they are things they are phones, keys licences, bags, computers, yeah all them things are fun and cool, and yeah they help out in life, but Jesus keep reminding me what really matters in Life what really is important to you?

The Cross Equals Perfect Love... 

Our hearts are important; our friendships, our family, our love for each there is so important and is worth so so much more than anything we can buy!!

This love that we have from Jesus what he did on the cross is so real and is actually everything we could ever imagine and more and its a free gift!!

This is forever, it won't just last a few years or months, no one can steal it from you and it is real, it will never disappoint or leave you!!

It will fill you with love, purpose and peace through every step of life, every circumstance and situation!!

This is what I am reminded of today the perfect unconditional; never changing love that I have daily from Jesus!!!

"Your a Good Good Father"

This last house build was amazing, we built for a dad of 3 children, his wife had left about 3 years ago.

This family, were surrounded by helpers, Carlos(Dad), His dad was there and his mum, his Nice, the neighbours and others from around the community.

What am amazing family the incredible humbleness and gentile heart of Granddad was so welcoming to all our team from YWAM and Canada, he was so Kind and loving, mostly with tears in his eyes throughout this weekend as he worked so heard for his son and his Grandchildren to have a house that was theirs.

His Son Carlos worked so hard this whole weekend and never lost the incredible smile that was permanently on his face, also his son and two daughters helped paint, hammer and build their new home, with incredible joy and smiles too.


This was a very precious family that had been living in a very sad situation, they had been living further away in a little room of a friends house and now they could have their own house, be near the kids school, be near Grandma and Granddad!!


One of the Team from Canada Asked "How do you manage to work and take care of your children and be smiling so much and be a man with such joy and peace?'
Carlos said it's all thanks to God, this is a testimony of God in his life, since his wife left he found the Lord and Carlos said he would never have been able to be who he is today and be the father he is today without God his Father in Heaven......

One more of my favourite moment was when we dedicated the completed house to the family and they could enter in.
From behind us all came a massive cheer, shouting, clapping, screaming and such joy...... we all turned around and it was so many people in the neighbourhood who know this family and were overjoyed for this family to have a house of their own, if anyone knew how much this family deserved it, it was their neighbours, we were all in tears too of such happiness





This was another testimony for me of the impact that this kind loving family are in their community and I believe it is the fruit of having a Loving, Loving, Father in Heaven.....

Thats our Father....

First Glimpse inside.... after it was all decorated and decked out with house things... 

Really living in "No fear"

So for the last few weeks or months maybe to be more realistic, I have been living in some fears in areas of my life to do with my future, of living in a different land that is very different to my culture, where I have no family there, I don't have a YWAM base there, right now I don't have a solid team. So really God thats my future, so many questions how will it work, how will I be safe, I can't be there on my own? So many questions....... One that have been holding me back from the plans of God.

Even to the fact of who am I trusting? God or other people in my life to keep me safe, to protect me and to keep me from harm.....

But tonight I was so challenged of How does God see me? How does he look at me? How is he towards me?

I asked him, and He showed me a picture, and reminded me of a moment that had happened in the past. One night I was standing at the back of a room whilst we were having a worship night and I saw my friends little girl sitting playing on the floor, she was just playing then after a while she realised she was on her own and she started to look around and as she was doing this she was seeking out her dad. He bottom lip started to go and she was looking lost and a bit nervous for where was her Dad.

Then all of a sudden she sensed him right behind her, He was reaching down to get her because he had seen her seeking him.

As soon as she turned and her eyes met his eyes her face changed and she relaxed, she had peace, she was SAFE, her Dad was wrapping his arms round her and pulling her into his embrace, she was safe, she was no longer alone, she was secure.

This is what God showed me and said this is how I see you everyday, this is how I hold you and take care of you, this is how you are to me, I will take care of you, I will keep you safe, you are safe in my arms!!

How does God see you? Ask him.........

You are my everything.....

And I will adore you? .......

Tonight I was singing a song, in Worship and I felt a challenge and I wanna share it with you...

"Worthy, Worthy, Worthy,
is the Lord God almighty, 
who was and is and is to come, 
with all creation i sing, 
praise to the King of kings 
you are my everything and I will adore you" 

I was like do I realise what I am singing? "You are my everything, and I will adore you", in my heart I was thinking is God my everything is He enough for me or am I always seeking more from life or things....

God reminded me of a time when I was travelling the first time to Brasil, this trip was a miracle its self, it was a dream that came true from the age of 14yrs and 14yrs later I was on my dream journey to Brasil.

At the time of embarking on this trip it meant I had to give up my job at home in England, I was leaving Mexico, flying on 11 flight in the next 2 weeks to get to Brasil and return finally to England.

This journey was huge, I was alone, it was my first time to Brasil, I didn't speak the language, my bank card had expired, I had no international phone, no internet, the money I had on me was all I had, some of it was $10 Canadian dollars, $10 USA dollars and Reals for Brasil!!

It was me and God, I had nothing to fall back on in emergency or anything no credit cards or nothing, this was a true adventure, however what God showed me on this trip was that he supplies all my needs, he provided me large coffee when I only had the money for a small, someone gave me a $5 Starbucks card for a 16 hour layover in Canada, and I only had $10 for food. He provided me free hotels when flights were disrupted, I made some friends, who would help me rebook flights, and talk to the people I was meeting on their phones as I didn't have a phone and couldn't speak Portuguese. He protected me in situations that may have been unsafe, 10 out of the 11 flights I sat next to Christians who really helped and encouraged me and still today some are my friends. He also gave me such peace, when I felt lost and alone, when I didn't know what to do He showed me!

When I was thinking back on this story, I was so overwhelmed by God and His greatness and that He knows my every need, He is my everything, He is greater than any circumstance we find ourselves in, He is more powerful than any of our needs, hurts and disappointments, He is Victorious and He is worthy of so so much!!

So "You are my everything, and I will adore you"!!