FIRE

Prayer is the fuel that creates the fire in our lives to reach this city, Sydney, for Christ! As our team was praying just over a week ago I was given an idea...Fire! Fire, which is used to describe in scripture the torture of eternal punishment for those who do not believe. Fire, for believers as a tool of refining as we grow closer to Jesus and become more like him, holy. Fire, the passion that comes as we meet with God as we grow closer and understand his love for us bit by bit:


FIRE

Fire! burning, dreadful, torturous-poisonous pain
Drinking, Drugging, Cheating, Abusing - brothers are slain
Godless humanity struggling for the spark
Hungry to know and to be known in the dark
Nights of the soul

Fire! burning, dreadful, torturous-reviving pain
Seeking, Opening, Digging, Exposing - reality to gain
God-fearing humanity fighting to die
Thirsty for organic H20 from Zion
Clarity thrusts through the blurred vision

Fire! burning, dreadful, hand of God-ordain
Exciting, Driving, Creating, Saving - Heaven to explain
God-serving humanity cruising the wave
New life marks the wake
And the soul is set free

-Michael

Xtra Xtra... This just in...

So this is just a quick note,
I was browsing the XXXchruch Site today and saw this video. You need to check it out. It's a reality check about what the porn industry is really all about. copy this link into your address window and press enter. it will prompt you to download do it and watch the video.

www.triplexchurch.com/constance.m4v

Peace
Matt

No Soup for you... KD instead

So its been a crazy week and I haven't had a chance to get on to update actually that's not entirally true I was on yesterday but the Blogger server was down. So here I am today with the update. A couple of crazy sweet things have been happening here at Harbour Wes. The first is that we were able to get connected with a Soup kitchen here in Sydney called Loaves and Fishes. I actually got the opportunity to go there today to help out its a sweet spot. A little bit of back ground on the place. They serve between 100-150 people a day 7 days a week, 365 a year. They are open from 10 am to 1pm every day without exception. It was a blast working with their head cook/co-ordinator/food delivery guy/floor man and pretty much any other job that makes the place run. Ron's his name and he's a great guy. I walked in this morning bright and early to discover two things first I was put right to work and second the main course of our menu today wasn't soup at all but KD how sweet is that. They have a few consistent volunteers that come faithfully everyday to help out but for the most are always looking for people to help. So if your ever in the neighborhood and looking for the sweet spots to hang out I would suggest Loaves and Fishes. They're located on Charlotte street just before the banks. IF you have never been here before then you'll need a map, which you can get at the tourist place by the big fiddle on the harbor. If you don't know where that is then ask someone I'm sure they will direct you to it, and possibly invite you to dinner because that's the type of people Sydneyites/Sydneyins are (I still don't know what to call people who live here!) and so after a good meal and some fellowship follow their directions to the fiddle and get a map then go to Loaves and Fishes I'm sure they would love to have ya.
The other cool thing that happened just last night was a crazy little thing I like to call the God being crazy and awesome factor. Terra and I were having a discussion last night about our current financial situation and were discussing the finer points of paying bills with only a 1.55$ to our name when a knock came at the door. Mike was there delivering the mail to us, and Terra being funny asked me if there was a checks for her, I smirked and said no and looked to find in my hand no checks addressed to Terra but two addressed to me. And its was more then enough to get us through this month. It's amazing how often God answers our prayers before we get a chance to pray them, ya'd think he knew what we needed or something. So I want to take this moment to praise God cause He is awesome and the reality is that it doesn't have anything to do with the money he gave us this month, its simply because He is God and he loves us like crazy. So praise God and pass the pickles.
Peace
Matt

Late wedding gifts are the best

SO another weekend has pasted and God is at work. The first thing I want to share about how random God can be. Terra and I are still just getting on our feet and settled in as a far as finances go and we are as usual tight for finances. And recently we discovered that we were tight for grocery money. So yesterday as we were leaving Sussex to make the home journey, we were slipped 60$ plus gas money which was crazy enough but when we got home we received a super late wedding card (and by super late I mean over a year late) but tucked away inside it was a check for 50$ now we have enough for groceries. Praise God cause is is random and crazy but it doesn't stop there.
recently we had put the word out that we were wondering if anyone had extra Purpose driven life books and other discipleship materials to help pus get started with the church plant. Tam sent out an email to all the pastors in the district asking if they had any used stuff and well we got a response. A couple donated 200$ for the use of increasing our discipleship resources which is way beyond what we could have asked for. Our God is amazing. He provides more then we ask for because he loves to bless us. Its amazing. And so I want to encourage whoever is reading this today to put your trust in God alone because He is the God who provides. The Lord is good and all his people said Amen
peace
Matt

A Day in the life of a Sydneyian...Sydneyite... or something

And here it is folks for the first time ever in full color the Sydney video blog




peace
Matt

Today was a good, family day. We took the kids to Baddek to visit the cousins. Catherine had a golf lesson and it was a beautiful sunny day. It kinda started out weird. Our One year Bible and another book were left on the roof of the car and fell off somewhere on the highway (thankfully Matt and Terra were able to drive around and find them). However, it did not put a damper on the day!

While at the golf course I got talking to a man whose son was in the same class with Catherine. He was really nice and we small talked for about 20 minutes. After that I just asked him questions about himself and he shared very openly about his recent separation and impending child-custody hearings. His candor was quite amazing. I just thank God for the little points of light in the contacts that we are allowed to make day in and day out. I believe that these contacts here and there; although, now they seem random and outa da blue will conbine in the foundation of this new church here in Sydney.

-Michael
2Timothy1.7 

One after Another...

Good morning and good day...
So its been a couple of days since the last update (my bad) but God has been doing some great stuff around here and I need to tell everyone cause God deserves the glory. SO Friday was another crazy day of blessings all around. It all started at around 11 am. We had had to get the dryer fixed and the guy was gonna charge us 75 bucks for the repairs which is still pretty good. Anyway So Tammy and I went to pick it up and after talking to the guy for a few minutes we went to pay and he looked at Tammy and said, tell ya what your a nice lady its only going to cost ya fifty. Crazy yes, but it doesn't stop there. After that He went on to explain that there is a piece we still needed to get for it which would cost us around 20 to 30 bucks but then mid sentence he stops and says, wait a second I might have one that will work. And sure enough he gave us the piece for free. Crazy yes but not done yet. So after the dryer blessing Terra and I had to go to the police station to pick up our background checks for a job which was going to cost us 50 bucks. So we had been praying that God would provide the money cause basically we don't have any and he did. Crazy yes but God wasn't done yet. So we pull into the police station with the money that God had provided and ask the lady there for our back ground checks. She pulls them out and Terra pulls out the money to pay and the lady stops her and says, I must have been having a bad day it says here that ya already paid. So after a couple minutes of trying to tell her we hadn't paid and she insisted we take it as a gift wad have a nice day. Crazy yes but still God wasn't done. This last one shows that God doesn't just provide what need but sometimes he provides the wants. So my best Friend Dame hooked me up with a free trial of the best game ever World of Warcraft. And I've been playing it through and have come to love the game. Its great I can hook up with all my friends that I don't get to see online and we can play through a pretty sweet game. Well the game is expensive and there are monthly fees to be paid for online play. So obviously I'm not getting the game anytime soon. Well the day my mom left she decided that she wanted to give me one last little blessing before she left so she gave me the money for the game and for a prepaid card. But she was very specific that I had to spend the money on the game. Well I went to buy it and I couldn't find it anywhere for under 50 bucks. So before I bought it I went on line and sure enough Future shop had a deal on for two more days. I got the game for 35 bucks shipping and taxes in and a prepaid card for two months. Crazy eh!? Well that's what God did on Friday and he just keeps doing crazy stuff
So that's all I have to report today God is awesome and its crazy working for I'm gonna have to say its the best job ever
peace
matt

It's Raining Blessings in here

So God has been doing some pretty crazy stuff. While in Woodstock God pour out the blessings on us through people giving money and food and a place to sleep it was crazy, but it didn't stop there when we got back here we discovered that our food supply was quickly diminishing and by quickly I mean hokey dyeing we ain't got any food left. But God was already at work. Our mom's drove us back from Woodstock (another blessing from God cause it saved us huge amounts of traveling expenses) and had already decided before they ever got here that they were going to come together and fill our cupboards and fridge and freezer with food. So we spend yesterday filling up carts with food it was nuts. So I want to take right now to thank God for moms but more importantly for his constant provision. He never lets us go without and its crazy. So this is a short blog but its a blog to say thanks to the moms but also and most importantly glory to God for he is awesome.
Peace
Matt

Home, home on the range...

So we got back in last night from our adventures in Woodstock. Overall it was a great trip. We got to see lots of family and friends and were given the opportunity to speak at Woodstock Wesleyan Chruch. The Lord is super good. After speaking there we walk away with a lot of prayer support which was great. I had the opportunity to bring God's word to the people at Woodstock Wesleyan and it was a lot of fun. The Lord is at work with the people there and we want to give him glory for the stuff he is doing there the church is really coming to life and allowing the Holy Spirit to move there. It's great.

And Now we are home and it feels nice to be jumping back into it. We are hoping this week to connect with some soup kitchens and food distribution centers in the area so be praying that God opens the door there for some ministry opportunities.
Anywho as for me I'm seriously behind in emails so I'm out.
peace
Matt

Conversation with a Neighbor

Hey everybody,

It is 5:15am and morning prayers are exciting. People come to mind...I pray. I read prayer requests from our prayer partners and exciting news from the 24-7 Prayer web site (www.24-7prayer.com)...and I pray! God is doing some wonderfully exciting things here. One of them occurred yesterday when a man down the street who showed up at our front door. Prompted by "who knows what" (I know!) a neighbor dropped over for a chat. He lives four or five houses down from us. He usually sits on a lawn chair recliner a good part of the day. I have made it a point to wave at him every time I pass by him whether in the car or on the street. We have had two previous chats and lots of waves...until today.

This man has had three months sober. He loves God and knows many scriptures and Catholic prayers by rote memory. As we sat and talked he quoted lots and lots of scripture. He must have stayed at the house from one in the afternoon until four thrity! This was a good thing. God is using our presence here in Sydney in a powerful way. This neighbor of ours even indicated an interest in being a part of a Bible study as soon as we get one started!!! He has also promised to take me to the next open AA meeting available. I pray for this opportunity to meet more of his friends. This is such a powerful indication that we are on the right track! Great is Your Faithfulness, Oh God my Father!

-Michael

On the Road Again...

And so we find ourselves on the road again. Terra and I are currently in Sussex on route to Woodstock where we are going to have the opertunity to speak at Woodstock Wesleyan. It's a pretty exciting time and its great to see family and friends again. This is going to be a short post and more of a prayer request then anything. As we prepare for this oppertunity we are in need of prayer support. Not only are we going to be able to share the vision for Harbour Wes with Woodstock but we have also been given the oppertunity to preach and share the word of God with them as well. Its super exciting but i would ask poeple to pray that God gives us the right words and that He guides every part of the prep and peaching. It's God's word and I'm excited that we have the oppertunity to share it so please being praying that God's truth is all we speak that we surrender our will and focus and allow God to do the work. thanks
Peace
Matt

Night Ministry

I am growing more and more aware of the incredible opportunities that God opens up in the wee hours of the night (or more appropriately, morning). I have been spending time with God in our prayer room during my 4am shift, the anchor in an all night vigil that our team is doing on a daily basis. Through being awake and praying at this time in the morning, I am realizing that there are a lot of other people who are also active at this time. This morning at 3:30 am Tammy woke me up saying, "someone just came to the front door and rang the doorbell and then ran off!" She heard them walk up the sidewalk to the front steps and then the bell rang. When she got up to answer the door whoever it was ran off.

So, being the protective husband that I am I got dressed went downstairs and put on my flip flops to go out and investigate. As I walked out the back door (so I could sneak up on them -- to have the advantage of surprise)a guy came running into my backyard from next door! I don't think my garments are stained, but it scared the B-geebers out of me. In my half-asleep/awake stupor I managed to ask why he was in the backyard and told him that he needed to leave. My voice due to being extremely sleepy sounded several octaves lower than normal probably like I was a bit doped up or something...kind of like Andre the Giant as Fesick in The Princess Bride. It was the combo of tiredness and fear that gave me the deep (hopefully intimidating sound)voice.

Anyhoo...after that fright I walked around the front of the house to hear a woman say, "Where is my daughter!" I decided to stand close to the house to observe what was going on without being noticed. A young guy came walking down the street to meet her. The next thing that happened...two police cars and a police van came screeching down the street. Things seemed to calm down a bit when a canine unit came sniffing around the house...this was around 4am. Now this probably doesn't sound that weird...yes it does! The fact is that the night before I heard someone "scratching" around the front door at 4am and in the newspaper, The Cape Breton Post, a man was reported to be walking down our street (Brookland Street)weilding a sword. Thank goodness he was arrested! So, life is really interesting here and lots happens before 6am than many experience all day!

-Michael