Chicken, and garlic mashed potatoes... delicious.

One-on-ones.

Last week we were assigned to a one-on-one so we would have intentional “one on one” time for counselling, discipleship and mentorship. The idea is that the student and leader will meet up at least once a week to pray, talk and keep each other on track.

The leader's role is to track the student to see what he/she is learning, struggling with and how they are doing. It’s a time for intentional accountability and connection.

My one on one is with René; a passionate, funny and lover-of-God-and-people. A year ago he didn’t know a word of English and now he is fluent! Praise God.

Today was our first one-on-one time. He picked me up, and we went and grabbed a slice of pizza and Fanta from the doner next door. We talked for over an hour sharing our stories of family, what we are passionate about and all the other things that make us: us. I came out of our meeting super excited and encouraged.

I am excited to see what God is doing and excited to see what he is going to do. I am also excited for this relationship God is creating. I pray that we might become close, and learn from each other, teach each other, and just get to know each other so much more. I pray that this can be a relationship founded in God and that we can be open and honest with oneanother. Pray with me that God will bless and use this friendship and that we grow closer.

Stepping it up.

Tonight I was hungry, and an egg just wasn't going to cut it. It was time to step it up. Mmmm... man, I love pasta.

Worship.

In one of our classes we talked about worship and what it really means
to love and follow God. I am reminded that worship isn’t something
that I do to get something back, to feel a certain way, or because he
tells me to. I worship the one true God because he deserves it.

I am not the person I once was, I am a new creation and its "by the grace of God,I am what I am". He has freed me. Its only through him, and I praise him for that. I worship him because I love him; I love him because he loved me first. "While you were still sinners, Christ gave himself up for you”. Not only has he freed me, he continues to free me daily. Although I slap him in the face in my rebellion he forgives me, teaches me and grows me, because he loves me and continues to love me more than I can ever know.

Although I go through times of sorrow, the Lord is my comforter. Though I go through times of trial, the Lord will direct me. When I stumble and fall the Lord will pick me up, and when I sit in darkness the Lord will be my light. During all these times I will continue to worship him because I am confident in him. I am confident in him because he overcame the world and he has suffered -- and He says that I will suffer, so I will. He has experienced every kind of temptation and trial. He knows what I’m going through.

I will worship him with my life because he deserves it. I will do all I can, for as long as I can, to become all that I can as worship to him. Whether it is an idol, a thought or temptation, I will hold it captive, it will be crucified, as worship to him. Picking up my cross every single morning, and dying to myself daily - that is my worship.

Trip to Dresden

It is Saturday night and I am exhausted from a long days travel into Dresden. At 9:00am this morning, twelve other students and I took a bus to the train station and made the hour long ride into to the old city.
I purchased a new pair of house shoes (slippers for the castle), and a notebook. Some of the other students bought jewellery, treats and scarves. We also stopped at an old fashioned black and white photo booth for just two euros.
At 2pm we were starving and stopped for some lunch at a Doner. I had a pizza, though most of the other students enjoyed a doner (Turkish meat and veggie filled bread)
We took the 4:30 train back to Herrnhut and arrived back at 5:30. It has been a great day and I am ready for bed.

First Home Made Food

this is the first cooked meal i have cooked in Germany. The Germans apparently dont like dinner very much (germans have a large lunch and small dinner)so my body makes me cook more food after we eat at the base.

Hello Herrnhut(saturday night)

It's just past midnight in Herrnhut Germany and I am ready for bed! Last night was my first shut eye since Thursday but I figured if I
waited to sleep I could easily slip into this time zone. It seems to have worked.

Classes don't start until Monday morning so not too much has happened . Most of my time here has been spent at the castle getting to know everyone a little better. Surprisingly there are only four Canadians here.

For the next three months I will be staying in town at the Fischer house with 6 other students and two staff. The house is a twenty minute walk from the base which is surrounded by a snow covered forest - a beautiful and cold walk

A Lonely Road.

The last five months has been a life changing experience for me - it has been a huge time of growth and maturity in my walk with God.

God has taken me places that I've never been before and shown me things I’ve never seen before. This helped me become better leader and a better Christ follower.

If I could sum it all to one experience it would be one word. Lonely. Up until this year, I never really had experienced leadership as a lonely road. I had heard many people say that it could be, but didn’t actually understand it, until I had experienced it.

God spoke to me through Jeremiah 29:11
" For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

He said something along the lines of;
“I do have plans for you Chance, wonderful awesome plans for you. I’ve had them ever since the foundation of the earth. I want them for you, I want you to be the best leader, and the best man of God you can be. Will you let me give them to you?”

God showed me that sure, he does have awesome plans for me, for all of us, but how many of us actually let him unravel them to their fullest potential.

God taught and continues to teach me that as a leader I need to be ahead of my team, seeing, experiencing, and learning things before everyone else and there will never be a time when there is not distance between myself and those I lead. Leadership can be a lonely road and sometimes so frustrating but Jesus himself, spent much time in lonely places and living lonely lives. He was and continues to be the greatest leader of all times. And if lonely means being the best leader I can be, awesome.

A "sweet" friend of mine encouraged me with this quote the other day.

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. They are much like eagles - they don't flock, you find them one at a time.”

T-minus...

It is a cold, harsh January day and I am sitting in Natas café (downtown Peterborough)with nine days to go. This time last year I had been waiting for several months to hear a response back from the Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Germany. I had applied in September of 2008 and had kind of given up on the idea of YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in September of ‘09.

A new semester of school was closing - which meant the rugby tour was drawing nearer (March) and by the time the tour had rolled around I was broke. YWAM wasn’t looking too promising - even if I did get accepted - how could raise the entire tuition by September? So I decided that I was going to return to school for another rugby season and figure out college or university then.

In May I received an email from YWAM -- I was accepted. Almost 5 months before I was to leave I had no money. I prayed and asked God to shine his light on the path that he wanted me to go. I would return to school for another year if there was no clear path.

Less then a week later I received another email from the staff at YWAM saying that they were postponing the course until January. I took that as a clear sign from God. It was going to be tough because in July I became unemployed and only had a few hundred dollars saved.

Six months following my acceptance into the YWAM DTS program I am now amazed and awed. I sit here seeing His glory revealed!

God has fully provided more than enough for my DTS (he blessed me with several jobs when most people couldn’t even find one). He has blessed me with a strong Church (Auburn Bible Chapel), He has put awesome families and friends in my life who have challenge and encouraged me, and He has taught me more about myself these months I ever thought possible.

During this time He has taught (and continues to teach) me what it is to me a man of God and what true masculinity really is. He is refining me to become that man of God he has called me to be, he has challenged me to step up, man up and grow up. It has being an awesome time.

Hello Friends,
Welcome to my new blog page, I will do my very best to use this blog to write to the body at Auburn Bible Chaple/the Gathering @ Trent and to my friends.

I want to start out by thanking all of you for your support. You have been a great help in my preparation.