Life of an Intern

Help send me to Kenya!

2011-03-04T10:06:00.002-06:00

I will be traveling to Kenya on June 3-16, with a team from Healing Place Church. We will facilitate outreaches to show the simple and practical love of Christ as well as conduct school assemblies all over the country. Kenya is an East African country with a population of over 40,000,000. Over half of Kenya's population is 15 or under! I believe the opportunity of a lifetime lies before us - the opportunity to make an impact on the youth and future of a nation. On this trip, we will have the opportunity to present the loving message of Christ to over 90,000 kids! Those children represent the future of Kenya, the hub of East Africa and me and you have the opportunity tell them how much they are loved, but I need your help!

Firstly, I am asking EVERYONE to please pray for me, the team going, and everyone that we will come in contact with. We need your prayers! I am also trying to raise funds for the trip. If you feel led to donate any amount at all, I would be humbled and grateful. I will directly receive all donations and will update the progress on the progress bar located to your right!

To donate and see up to date blog posts, visit http://www.YouCanSend.me/Brandon

Twitter

2008-11-21T00:17:00.003-06:00

"Life of an Intern" doesn't describe my life so much anymore. Thinking about starting a new blog or maybe just, personally, retiring from the blogosphere all together. Gotta think about this one...

To keep up with me check out www.twitter.com/bbizzle

EXECUTION ROCK!

2008-05-21T08:57:00.003-06:00

Where do I start? It has been a crazy couple of days. The guys have been doing concrete and foundation work at one of the carepoints and the girls have been doing crafts and other work at another carepoint. While the guys were working, we had a brick delivery so me and Barton started hauling bricks -

Oh yeah, it was some heavy stuff.

Yesterday we hiked to the home of one of the carepoint cooks. She walks an hour and a half to get to the carepoint to cook for the kids! It's so easy walk either, it is in the mountains. She proudly showed us her very modest home and we gave her some blankets and prayed with her. I can say for the whole group that we had a very special moment.

Then we woke up this morning to do some REAL HIKING! We set out to climb Execution Rock, where people used to be executed by being pushed off. About halfway up, I started to wonder if I was going to make it to the top, but I determined that I wasn't going to stop. I am SO glad I did it. It was breathtaking at the top. I didn't take any pictures of it on my phone (which is how I have been blogging these pics) but here is a picture of Execution Rock that I found on Google -

I stood at the top of that today! Man, it was incredible - I still can't believe I made it to the top. Tomorrow we meet up with the Mozambique team to do some stuff at the Maphaveni carepoint and then drive to Hlane game reserve to go on a game drive and spend the night there. This trip has flown by. My second time to Africa, but it is safe to say I am returning to American soil a different person.

oh yeah

2008-05-19T14:01:00.002-06:00

Thats right - Red Bull Swazi-style. The only coffee we have found is instant aka GROSS so we have been hittin' up the gas station for some caffeine love. This was taken while we mixed concrete today and building the foundation for the new classroom at the Mongwoneni Carepoint. More concrete work in the morning (thank you Jesus, for the gift of Excedrin) and then a hike to deliver some goods and supplies to some homes in the mountains. It has been great. Lots of work, lots of laughs - all for Him. What an honor it is to do this.

HPC_swazi is official

2008-05-18T08:17:00.004-06:00

The launch yesterday went GREAT! Everyone was buzzing with anticipation (and red bull) as we were preparing all of the last minute details. Everything from sound, children's ministry, parking lot and preparing a lunch to feed 200+ people - this is truly an HPC campus! Pastor Ben shared a great message about the woman who was caught in adultery and how the pharisees wanted to stone her - but Jesus takes the stones in our lives and turns them into our foundation. It was good stuff. There were 202 people in church to hear that message! The alter was full at the end of service. It was awesome - I will try to post pics of it later. To hold you over, here is a picture from the balloon outreach we did the the other day.

we hiked.

2008-05-17T11:01:00.003-06:00

Yeah, its true. We hiked up a mountain tonight when we got back to the hotel. My legs hurt. My back is killing me. But it was BEAUTIFUL! It was so worth it! Waterfalls, amazing trees, MONKEYS!... We just ate dinner and we are talking about how we want to go to the rooms and crash and Natalie says, "Brandon, you don't want to know what time it is." It was only 6:55pm! I'm so tired. I haven't gone to bed this early since 4th grade. Tomorrow is the launch!

HPC_Swazi

2008-05-17T04:05:00.002-06:00

These are the brand new HPC_Swaziland signs! They just got put up this morning and they look great! Today we went to a very busy area in the middle of the city and gave out suckers tied to balloons and told people about the church launch in the morning. Then a group of us went up to a soccer field in a really rough area and gave out cokes and talked to a bunch of young people. We are about to eat some lunch and continue to get the church ready for service tomorrow. Please pray that everything goes well in the morning!

Swazi babyyyyy!

2008-05-16T10:44:00.001-06:00

We made it! We got to Manzini, Swaziland last night right on time. For our first night we went to eat, met some of the Children’s cup team and then went back to the hotel and crashed! We started today with some Cooking for Christ - Swazi style. We cooked for about 200 people and distributed meals to surrounding businesses. After the food outreach, we went to a park that has 3 highschools nearby and all of the students pass by when they let out of school - I’m talkin’ A LOT of kids. Jordan, one of the Children’s Cup missionaries, set up a sound system and played some dance music and we passed out candy and flyers for the FIRST official service for HPC_Swaziland on Sunday! These kids can DANCE! It went great. We are currently at Ben and Susan Rodgers house where we are about to throw down some awesome dinner and hang out for a bit.

Everything is going great. We even saw some monkeys today at the place we are staying - it is beautiful scenery. Keep prayin for us and I can't wait to see everyone when I get back!

T-rice

2008-05-05T11:21:00.002-06:00

Its official. Trice is gone for the summer. If you don't know him, Trice is the coolest guy around and he's a genius-whiz kid when it comes to stage lighting. He'll be on tour for the summer and won't be back till August. He's sure gonna be missed around here.

hahahahahahahaha.

2008-04-24T17:58:00.001-06:00

My Thoughts are Provoked...

2008-04-22T15:41:00.004-06:00

Sarah in the "Thought Provoking" section at Barnes and Noble...

ARC

2008-04-13T16:43:00.003-06:00

Comin' at ya from Birmingham, AL at Church of the Highlands. They are hosting the annual ARC Conference this year. Looking forward to hearing from Brian Houston and the other great speakers. All of the ARC church interns got here a day early to hang out and do a little pre-conference stuff, so it should be pretty cool. Just had some slammin' dinner and we're about to start the first session. Check back...

Prayer

2008-04-05T23:19:00.003-06:00

I've had a few email updates from Heather and everything has sounded like it's been great, but I got an email yesterday that she has been sick in bed with a high fever for a full day now. So definitely be lifting her up in prayer, because it's a spiritual battle. I've been sick in a 3rd world country (103 degree fever!) and it's pretty miserable.

Update from India

2008-04-02T12:32:00.003-06:00

I got an email from a friend of mine, Heather Alise, who is currently on her very first mission trip to India. She said -

"Today was our first real day in the city...WOW...an email wouldnt even do any justice to what i saw and experienced today. I really do know now for a fact that this HAS to be the worst place in the WORLD! ...my heart is wrecked..Never have i seen what my eyes saw today. Kids EVERYWHERE...no parents..all sick and begging for money...this one little boy was selling necklaces in the market and wanted 100 rubies for one..which is like 30 bucks in america...well i couldnt help it and was just pulling out money and wanted to give like 200 rubies to this little boy...when i looked up i had all these Indian kids smiling and holding out there hands...i was kinda stuck!!! Thank goodness our guide "Sweety" pulled me away..'Heatha you cannot give your money's away like that!!!!'...guess im still learning..."

Not only is she oversees, for the first time, but she is with Luke Walters and Rusty Domingue! Talk about gettin' rowdy for Jesus over in India!

it just doesn't get much more relaxing than this

2008-03-29T13:55:00.001-06:00

Par

2008-03-26T23:09:00.002-06:00

Me and my boys Dustin, Evan and Dylan went and hit up a little mini golf tonight. I dominated!

got some bad news and some good news...

2008-03-26T16:46:00.004-06:00

The bad news, you already know - it has been a while since I've blogged.

The good news - I'm in Destin for the week, gettin a much needed tan.

If you know me well, then you know why I posted the picture above. You cannot find a Rockstar Pomegranate ANYWHERE in Baton Rouge, but they're all over Destin, ya heard!

amazing

2008-02-28T21:44:00.006-06:00

I know, I know - everyone has blogged about Amplified and I'm really late. I was totally ready to type out my thoughts on Sunday afternoon, but as I sat down to my computer, I was just overwhelmed by the impact of the weekend. The weekend was for students to be discipled and grow closer to God, which happened in a BIG way, but after all was said and done - MY HEART was so full. My body was physically exhausted but my spirit has never been more alive. Bondages were broken, chains were thrown off and students lives were set free. In my group of guys alone some felt the call to be pastors and missionaries. I could not be more proud of a group of guys than the 14 10th grade guys I had for the weekend. What I would have done to have a group of guys like that when I was in high school... The future of HPC is STRONG! Thank you, Pastor Dino and Delynn for giving us the opportunity to do this. And thank you to the whole student ministries team for working tirelessly to make sure the weekend went off without a hitch.

Thank you Jesus for using someone like me to reach into lives.

Me and some of my guys bagging groceries for the Winbourne Dreamcenter - thanks CarolE!

Arbitrary bit of information for the day

2008-02-20T14:48:00.005-06:00

I saw on Relevant that the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing is releasing the new five dollar bill this month. It's pretty crazy lookin, if you ask me. And PURPLE.

The huge, purple 5 on the back is supposed to make the five dollar bill easier to recognize than other denominations. Kinda odd looking though...

Rob is so cool

2008-02-18T19:05:00.004-06:00

Apparently, Rob Gros is taking over BATON ROUGE.

Check out Josh's blog for more Gros domination.

meditation or quantum physics?

2008-02-13T09:07:00.001-06:00

This is a diagram I saw in a Christian book on how to hear God's voice through meditation. Wow. Can you say analytical thinker? For me its a little more like shut up and listen.

back in action

2008-02-06T10:49:00.000-06:00

Dan O is back! He has been on a little family vacation the past week...although nothing is little when you get ALL of the Ohlerkings together. I actually got a rare shot of him with his phone to his ear, instead of typing a text. It's good to have him back. I threw a lot of stuff away while he was gone (don't tell him - he'll never know). Something you may not know about our blog master is that he rarely checks OTHER blogs. So he'll probably never see this post.

ghost busters

2008-02-05T11:18:00.000-06:00

Me and a few friends rolled over to Bethany last night for Deluge. Lemme say - it was SLAMMIN. Some thick worship, a great message and an intense time of prayer to close it out. God was on the move and it was incredible to be there. It is so great to have relationships with other local churches. God is breaking down walls and barriers in Baton Rouge and the body of Christ is working together. Together we are better.

friday distraction...

2008-02-01T14:04:00.000-06:00

This is hysterical.

A quick translation - For the first two guys they shout "The tsunami is coming!" For the third guy they point and say "There's the guy!" They say nothing for the fourth guy and say "Heads up!" for the last one. Enjoy...

mid-morning laugh

2008-01-31T10:21:00.000-06:00

I saw this Harley Davidson ad that made me chuckle...

crammed noggin

2008-01-30T16:06:00.000-06:00

I am in my second year of the full-time Elevate internship program, at Healing Place Church. I have three years under my belt if you consider the year of part-time I did, while still at LSU. Needless to say, my computer is full of notes and notes. The classes we have are great and the teachers are amazing, but now as this year is rounding the halfway mark I find myself with this look on my face...

Sometimes I just feel like my brain is FULL. I take notes that one day I know I will be able to look back on and soak up, but as for now I feel like the information is just spilling out of my cranium and into a file on my macbook. Please don't get me wrong - it is priceless teaching from people who have SOOOO much more experience than I do. But when this face shows up in class...

I just gotta keep on typin...

Mrs. Sandy

2008-01-29T10:59:00.000-06:00

I snapped this picture last week from upstairs, in the tech booth. It is Mrs. Sandy LeBlanc, Gabi's mom, and also one of my favorite people EVER. Any time we go to Gabi's house, she has fresh cookies baked within 5 minutes of our arrival and then heads back for more goodies to bring us. She really takes care of us interns. I saw her operating this camera, like a pro, and HAD to get a picture of it.

the wonders of technology

2008-01-22T10:41:00.000-06:00

I am so thankful to be able to do what I do. Take this, for example.

Being able to talk to one of my favorite guys, Isaac Williams, even though he is 9,000 miles away in Mozambique (thanks to Skype). He and his wife Carol are doing an amazing job pastoring HPC_Mozambique. Pray for them - the devil doesn't want them to do what they are doing.

You Decide

2008-01-17T10:55:00.001-06:00

I am a bearded fellow, most of the time. Not because I love beards, or think I look good with a beard. Mostly because I simply hate shaving. I NEVER shave with a razor, just trim every couple of weeks with an electric trimmer. But, I often get compliments on the facial hair. So as I was trimming, last night, the thought crossed my mind...beard or no beard?

Let me know what you think. Bearded Brandon or baby-faced Brandon? It's up to you, America. Cast your vote.

Umhlabelo!

2008-01-16T15:11:00.000-06:00

Means celebration in Saswati. You gotta be there.

Easy breathing and a Mac for sale

2008-01-15T19:57:00.000-06:00

Man, the last week has been a crazy one. I was SICK for most of last week and then somehow managed to make it to the Elevate retreat last weekend, which was great. While I was sick, I discovered the strangest, yet most amazing thing ever - the Neti pot. Yeah, the thing is really weird, and while I am not as creepy looking as the lady on that video, I can imagine I still look pretty funny doing it. Go ahead, poke fun but it's all worth it when I can breathe at night!

Also, many of you may know I am a Mac user and lover. I recently got a new MacBook for my birthday and was going to keep my old iBook for kicks. Then I remembered - I'm a broke intern. So that being said -

FOR SALE

iBook G4 80GB HD, 1.2 GHz, 768 MB DDR SDRAM, Combo drive - Typical wear and tear for a 5 year old laptop - scratches, but nothing major. Still works great. Runs Tiger OS X. $300

Please let me know if you are interested. My first mac - she's a beaut and she'll be hard to part with.

How does this thing keep coming back?

2008-01-11T11:26:00.000-06:00

A few months ago our dear friend, Jordan Gautreau, was digging through, what I believe to be, a bag of donated clothing and found the worlds ugliest hat. I mean, this thing is awful. He wore it around that day and it was pretty funny, we all got a good laugh. But then he wore it again the next day. And then I see him wearing it at Refuge and realize that it wasn't a joke. Something deep inside of Jordan's soul actually liked this hat. Someone even STOLE it from him at one point ( I won't mention Tori Ohlerking's name) to get him to stop wearing it and threatened to burn it. After so much controversy, I haven't seen the hat in a while. It hasn't made an appearance in a couple of weeks. THEN IT HAPPENED...
I am in my room and hear Jordan exclaim, "Hey I found it!" Much to my dismay, I walk in Jordan's room to find THIS -

Now the picture may not do it justice, but this hat is 100% certified UGLY. Please don't think I'm mean - I love Jordan, he's an awesome guy and he knows how I feel about his hat. But we seriously need to do something about this situation.

Wii, by candlelight?

2008-01-08T12:58:00.000-06:00

Ok, so this may not be big news to some of you gamers or web-geeks out there so just play along because this was a huge discovery for me! My little cousin told me a Wii rumor that you can unplug your sensor bar, light two candles in place of the sensor bar and it will work just the same! I definitely didn't believe it so I had to try it myself.

Me and my partner in crime, Paul, went and dug out some candles and set it all up - IT WORKED! I couldn't believe it.

After some research online, reflector tape and some other things work, also. Crazy.

What IS a buckeye, anyway?

2008-01-05T02:42:00.000-06:00

Saw this license plate the other day and thought Toby would appreciate it.

So this is the new year...

2008-01-02T20:29:00.000-06:00

Wow. Another year flew by. But theres no other way to ring in the new year than to light somethin' on fire and blow some stuff up - All in between meals, of course. (We ARE in southern Louisiana) The festivities this year kicked off with some of Papa Moose's pork ribs - that we quickly devoured.

After some Wii Golf, it was time to light something on fire. What better than the freshly discarded Christmas tree? Well, what started as, "Dude let's see how fast this thing will catch on fire" ended with a one-tree, 2 minute BONFIRE.

We then proceeded to finish out 2007 by blowing up stuff in the water, on the ground, in the air and shooting rockets at each other. You know - typical guy stuff.

But the festivities only continued on January 1, 2008 with one bowl-game after another, at the Fontenot's. At one point, I hear a cry of help from Katie - only to find this predicament...

She had the GREAT idea to play Monopoly, but just needed a little help getting the game down from the shelf. Now, I love a good, rousing game of Monopoly. But what can begin as a nice, friendly game...

Can quickly become something so much more.

Katie won. She's veddy, veddy sneaky. So, Happy New Years - it's gonna be a great one.

Well let's start countin'...

2007-12-29T00:42:00.000-06:00

The title of my blog is "Life of an Intern" and what you are about to see is truly that. I had been out of laundry detergent for a few weeks now, and was down to my last few clean shirts. After siphoning off detergent from a few other roommates, I figured it was time to buy some of my own. Armed with three rolls of quarters ($30) I was off to Target to buy some detergent and dryer sheets. Now, I may be poor, but I don't skim on my detergent. I buy the good stuff.
As I'm approaching the checkout line, the thought crosses my mind, "They have to take quarter rolls, huh?" As I check out and proceed to pay, I humbly hand over my rolls of currency and I get the look. You know the look. It says, "You've got to be kidding" without words - its all in the eyebrows. The cashier says that they won't take rolls and I would have to pay with bills. After some discussion about the quarters being all that I had, along with some loud sighs from the couple behind me, I had come to one conclusion - I was going to have to count out $25 worth of quarters at Target during peak hours. I was later told that my exact words were, "Well let's start countin!"

Thanks to Paul Musso, Wii Pro, for the quick photography skills. Actually, it wasn't so quick. I counted $25 bucks worth of quarters...

Nkobe

2007-12-13T20:36:00.000-06:00

The video below represents yet another reason I am so thankful and honored to be a part of what God is doing through Healing Place Church. Not only in Baton Rouge, or even Louisiana, but globally - all for Him.

What means so much is that this isn't just stock footage of African orphans. I've held, played and laughed with these children and helped these women prepare the meals. They are real people with real stories, hopes and dreams. The kids are being fed and given medical care and education and their village is being changed from the people and sacrifices of HPC, Children's Cup and so many others. The people of Nkobe are being shown the love of their Savior. Isn't that what its really all about?

Twisted

2007-12-13T11:16:00.000-06:00

Last night, was the Refuge Christmas party - Twisted. It was slammin. It was Asian-themed and there was tons of sushi, from Hello Sushi, fan-dancers, break dancers, a DJ with some sweet beats, red fortune cookies, Chuck Norris, Most Extreme Challenge and a big dancing dragon. The students loved it. It was a great night.

wow...

2007-12-12T13:18:00.000-06:00

I stumbled upon some more interesting cuisine today in the creative room.

This was Mei Fun, from China Chef, with a little kick from some Taco Bell hot sauce. I promise I won't post any more of these because they are actually starting to gross ME out.

That is one thing I never want Aunt Sharon to share...her FOOD.

What NOT to get me for Christmas

2007-12-10T16:11:00.000-06:00

Going through some of the donated toys for the Christmas outreaches I noticed something strange about this one...

Yes, my friends...it POOPS!

I believe it was called "Trainer Barbie" and comes fully equipped with a pooping pooch. Please, don't get me wrong. We are very grateful for ALL of the toys donated . But this one is almost as good as the "Potty Putter" from the Elevate garage sale, last year.

Russian Delicacy?

2007-12-07T11:54:00.001-06:00

You may be asking yourself, "What is this disgusting looking concoction of food?" Well, dear bloggers - meet my friend Katie.

We have been friends for a long time. Since 5th grade, actually, when I saved her shoes, and life, in Mexico. Ask her about it one day - she would love to share the story. She's always sharin' a story, thats why we call her Aunt Sharon. Aunt Sharon also has very strange eating habits. She blames it - and everything else - on being raised in a foreign country.

The other day, I stumbled upon Katie making this interesting dish. It consists of processed lunch meat, taco sauce (which she will put on anything) and pepper-jack cheese. I almost threw up. Then she microwaved it! The one thing I knew was that I had to share this with the world. Enjoy -

Get ready - I'm back.

2007-12-03T14:22:00.000-06:00

I know...I'm sorry. I promised myself when I started blogging, that I would never have one of these posts. But here I am. I have been a blog bum the past month or so (or two). Things have been so crazy - but I wouldn't want it to be any other way. I LOVE what I get to do and the people I get to do it with. Life is great.

Pics will be coming soon (still working out the picture issues with the new phone) and I will return to the blogging world. It's on.

Vision Night 2007

2007-10-10T13:06:00.000-06:00

Everyone definitely needs to come to Vision Night, this Sunday - October 14! It's gonna be an awesome time where Pastor Dino shares the vision of Healing Place Church for the next year. Be sure to wear yo' LSU jersey, because it's a sports-themed night and 'dem Tigers are #1! Yeah, its ok to wear your USC jersey - because what are they ranked now...12? 13?

Pre-game starts at 6:00! See you there.

Africa

2007-10-02T14:20:00.000-06:00

Africa

2007-09-18T12:51:00.000-06:00

I have been doing some research on Social Justice organizations and every time I come across an organization that deals with Africa, I find my heart wanting to leap out of my chest. As I am sitting here reviewing these websites, fighting back tears, I came across some of these statistics that I thought I would share.

I came across another statistic today that really hit me hard. In Mozambique, if the spread of HIV/AIDS is not reversed, life expectancy will drop from 50.3 to 36 years of age by 2010. Thats less than 3 years away. Wow.

Honduras

2007-09-13T09:15:00.000-06:00

Photo from the Cooking for Christ team, from HPC, that went to Honduras to work with Ernie and Robyn Breaux. (Robyn is in the overalls)

Just talked to some of our missionaries in Honduras, Ernie and Robyn Breaux. Hurricane Felix went through Honduras last week, but thankfully they only experienced a little rain. Another Cooking for Christ team has spent the last week in in Honduras, with the Breauxs, cooking for hundreds of children and families in the area. Ernie and Robyn have a great ministry, ER International, that reaches out to displaced children and provides them a home. Keep these awesome missionaries in your prayers. They are doing so much for the kingdom.

Good 'ol Bamboo

2007-08-31T15:58:00.001-06:00

I just got this text from the team of men in Peru, titled "Good 'ol Bamboo". They have started to work on the roof of a local church that began to cave in. There were still aftershocks for days after the initial earthquake. The men have been hauling bamboo to the church site to repair the roof. They are also nearly done repairing the local sewer system - God bless 'em - and began framing up the site for one of the relief camps that Camino de Vida has taken on. Keep these guys in your prayers and continue to pray for the relief effort - that supplies, finances and help would continue to pour in!

Forty Days of Prayer for the Children

2007-08-29T13:56:00.000-06:00

If you haven't been praying with Children's Cup tomorrow is a perfect time to start! Be sure to make your way over to the website tomorrow at fortydays.childrenscup.org to check out who is prayin. Its gonna be good!

Peru Relief

2007-08-29T09:43:00.000-06:00

As most of you already know, Peru was hit with a 8.0 earthquake about two weeks ago. Camino de Vida, Pastor Robert Barriger's church in Lima, has been asked to be responsible for building and taking care of three relief camps in the city of Pisco. That definitely speaks volumes about the integrity of a church - that the government would ask for help during a time of crisis.

Last week, Mark Stermer, Jeff Rentz and Emily Morrow traveled to Lima to assist Camino de Vida with the relief efforts and immediately saw the need for much more help. In true form, HPC had 14 men who volunteered to take off of work and leave their families for a week to go to Peru and be a healing place for a hurting world. Church of the King, a great church in Mandeville, are also sending 10 men along with 3 men from Our Saviors Church, in Lafayette. We also had numerous people who weren't able to physically go to Peru, sponsor someone else's trip - wow.

The team of 27 men left this morning from New Orleans to travel to Lima and on to Pisco to help build the three relief camps. Please keep them, Camino de Vida, Robert Barriger and the people of Peru in your prayers.

Money Money

2007-08-01T17:47:00.001-06:00

My dear friend, Natalie Spera, has recently posted some quite hilarious videos on her blog, which reminded me of this gem that I ran across about a year ago. I have watched this countless times and still find myself DYING of laughter. I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

L.A. Mission Team

2007-07-16T21:51:00.000-06:00

I had the honor of driving a team of crazy Refuge kids to the New Orleans airport this afternoon. They are headed out to the L.A. Dreamcenter to do some outreaches to the community and represent Jesus any way they can - which I know they will do a great job of. We all need to be praying for them and the team that headed out for Cambodia today. I am so thankfull to be a part of a church that is reaching out and taking action locally and globally.

Submerge rocked my face off

2007-07-02T22:55:00.000-06:00

Thats right, I don't even have a face anymore after Submerge. It was that awesome. Many of you may know that there was a family emergency before camp even officially started. The devil really didn't want me to be there. I had a hard decision to make, but after prayer and talking to my family, they wanted me to stay. There were times when I wanted to be home for my family, but after seeing hundreds of kids making decisions for Christ, I knew I made the right decision to stay. It was amazing. The spirit of God was so thick that I can't even describe it. It feels like I have a holy-ghost sunburn that I just cant shake. But, like a physical sunburn, a holy-ghost sunburn will fade with time. The only way to keep it is to spend more time in the SON! Come on somebody...
I really do want to thank everyone who has been and still are praying for my family. All the calls and encouragement has really helped a lot. God has put such great people around me that I am so thankful for. So thank you all - your prayers are pulling us through.

Submerge

2007-06-21T21:53:00.000-06:00

I will be at Submerge Summer Camp for the next week, in Sandestin Florida. Please pray for the staff, kids and all of the churches traveling to be a part of it. Over 900 junior high and highschool kids from 18 churches are coming to get away and experience God at a new level. It's gonna be awesome.

Quite a reminder...

2007-06-14T15:24:00.000-06:00

I wear a bracelet from Africa that I bought from one of the Care Point cooks. It reminds me to pray for Africa, the children and the missionaries there. Now that its been about a month since Africa, the passion and compassion that I felt there and when I got home has become a little dull and my memories of the kids a little fuzzy. But when I read this on Dan's blog it's like everything came flooding back. -

ezekiel 16:49 tells what God sees as the ultimate sin of sodom. you know, the city that we all remember for its debauchery and vulgarity and all? well, here's what ezekiel 16:49 says:

"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy."

Wow.

Be sure to visit the new Children's Cup website.

Live from Pamper Night

2007-06-11T18:49:00.000-06:00

So I am blogging live from Pamper night right now. I am one of about 5 guys here in the middle of 400 women. HP Women has put on the pamper night to provide free haircuts, facials, pedicures, massages...all that girl stuff. I am in the sound booth with Blake, Toby and Brian. There is also a lot of girly food and some punch, which they serve in those tiny little plastic cups. So Toby decided to take things into his own hands. He takes my empty coke bottle downstairs and, to the shock of all of the women, fills up the entire bottle in the punch fountain! It was great. It was our "man cup". You gotta do what you gotta do...

A good laugh

2007-06-07T14:32:00.000-06:00

This really cracked me up. The best part is the crazy lady laughing as the kid is holding on for life!

Summertime and the livin's easy

2007-06-06T20:55:00.000-06:00

Sorry for all you faithfull readers out there (if there are any) - summer has really taken its toll on my blogging. I am really enjoying my summer, having a little time off and being able to spend some time with family and friends. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am a counselor at HPC staff kids Summer Camp with 17 of the funniest kids I have ever met. Angela Musso has the great honor of being a couselor with me. (It's really the other way around - she brings lunch every day!)
Having time off has been great, but I honestly miss Elevate, the structure it brings to my life and the other people in it. The first year of Elevate has honestly been the best year of my life and I'm really looking forward to the second year. It has its ups and downs, but thats life.

Pastor Dino on lifechurch blog

2007-05-29T20:49:00.000-06:00

I am so thankfull, every single day, to be a part of such a great church that is really making a difference in the community, the world and all for the kingdom. A part of that is being under such a great pastor, Pastor Dino. I happened to catch this video on the lifechurch.tv blog, Craig Groeschel's church (really great church). I thought it was really cool.

Ms. Susan

2007-05-20T19:49:00.001-06:00

I recieved some sad news today that I just cannot get off of my heart. Pictured above is Ms. Susan, a cook at one of the carepoints we visited in Swaziland. This was the first Children's Cup carepoint and Ms. Susan was one of the first cooks. She even took in a child from the carepoint to live with her and her grandchildren, whom she raises because their mother died of AIDS. She was dedicated and when the Elevate team was there, she took us on a community walk to hand out candy and show some love in the village. One of the last things we did was give her a brand-new big, soft blanket for her bed, which she was so thankful for.
I got the news earlier today that Ms. Susan died last night of the same disease that is ravaging so many lives in Swaziland, the same disease that took her daughter. If you can, please say a prayer for her family and for the carepoint, GiGi's Place.

Nkobe

2007-05-09T17:15:00.000-06:00

These are the kids who come to get their one meal a day at the Nkobe Carepoint. The cooks lead them in a song and prayer before the meal.

More pics from Mozambique

2007-05-08T08:23:00.000-06:00

An HPC SERVE shirt in the food line.

Abrahim, the coolest kid in Mozambique.

Makulu, the builder. He is also a grandfather-type figure to the village kids.

Back Home

2007-05-04T14:05:00.000-06:00

Africa was amazing. Simple as that. Words cannot express what I experienced there, but if you want to know more, please come talk to me about it. Over the next couple of days I'll be posting some pictures and videos from the trip. Some serious, some funny - just to give you a better idea of how the trip was. Thanks so much for all your prayers and support.

This is Africa

2007-04-27T10:56:00.000-06:00

We are still in Mozambique, and as I am writing this I am drenched in sweat because the computer is in a tiny little room in the hotel that is BURNING UP! We have gone out to the village of Nkobe every day. So far the guys have dug a 40 ft trench, installed a water tank on top of a tower, removed an onld hand-pump from a well and have attempted to install a motorized pump -we're still workin on that one, TIA (read below) and all the time still playing with kids who so desperately need some love and attention. They come to the Care Point to get their one meal a day, but also get fed spiritually and emotionally....this trip has been amazing...Everyone needs to come to Africa and leave a piece of themselves here - EVERYONE. I have plenty of pictures and stories for when I get home. We leave for Swaziland in a cople days, which will be great as well! Please keep praying for us - we are relying on your prayers!

TIA - This is Africa

This pretty much sums up everything here. When something doesnt go as planned - "TIA", when you see something just downright crazy - "TIA". You just have to take a deep breath and say...TIA.

Holla from AFRICA!

2007-04-23T01:56:00.000-06:00

We just checked into the Hotel 2001 in Mozambique. Yeah, I know it sounds like a nightclub. Its hot, crowded, busy and crazy but its AWESOME! Everyhthing went smooth getting here, we overnighted in South Africa and even had some KFC chicken. It's gonna be a great trip!

Elevate Pics

2007-04-17T16:33:00.000-06:00

So with the first year of Elevate coming to a close, we got dressed up and had the great David Song take some pics for us. I'll post more as I get them, but here is a seek peek.

Christ is Risen

2007-04-08T16:24:00.000-06:00

I was in Starbucks this morning, and happened to catch the cover of this mornings Advocate. On the front cover, was the headline "Christ is Risen" with a picture of a cross. I was so fired up to see that! A major newspaper proclaiming the news of the risen King! What a great weekend it's been at HPC.

"The tide is turning, and this is redemption's hour..."
-Hillsong United

I hate geese

2007-03-30T09:02:00.000-06:00

If you have spent any time at HPC, you know that we have some feathered friends who like to spend time in and around our lake. Well, this group of Canadian geese leave nice little surprises behind them everywhere they go! We are constantly washing geese poop off of the sidewalks around the lake.

As I was leaving the church, yesterday, one of our little friends was in the middle of the driveway. Honestly, my first instinct was to hit the gas! But, as I slowed down to let it waddle out of the way, this crazy goose decided that my truck was a predator, worthy of fighting. It puffs its feathers out and CHARGES at the truck! It starts incessantly pecking at my truck and HISSING! Who knew geese hissed?! I finally had to get out of the truck and chase it off as it is trying to peck me!

Garage Sale

2007-03-27T14:34:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, we had our Elevate Garage sale, to raise money for our trip to Mozambique. Its only 28 days away! Well, word spread that we were having our garage sale and people just started coming from all over the place with donations! We even filled a truck and trailer full of furniture from ONE house!
We began organizing for the garage sale on Friday around 3:00 PM. Little did we know what was in store for us... The stuff just kept building up. We ended up staying the ENTIRE NIGHT, forgoing any thought of sleep, just to organize the stuff and set up for Saturday morning. People were stopping by at all hours of the night, buying things. Before Saturday morning, we had already made over $200! By the time 5 A.M. rolled around, we had finally finished setting up and had our first official customers (the hard-core garage sale-ers) stopping by. Our very first customer even bought THIS item!

No one knew what this was. NO ONE. It was a mystery. But Our very first customers bought it for $25. We asked what it was and I think she made something up about birds...she didn't know, either.

We were all verifyably insane by 4 A.M. Our gymnast friend, Gabi even performed for us.

You never know what you will find at a garage sale. This is an OLDSCHOOL HPC Christmas CD. I snatched that one up, baby!

Just about every time we turned around, Blake was wearing a random item of clothing. I think this was the school marm look.

We ended up making even more money than we thought, worked harder than we ever have in our lives and actually had a lot of fun. When I finally got to bed on Saturday night, I had been awake for 39 hours! It will all be worth it when we are in AFRICA!! I also have to give a shout out to all of the people who volunteered their time to help us out, especially Ms. Shiela!! We could not have done it without ya'll!

Let the games begin...

2007-03-22T09:16:00.000-06:00

I dont have much to blog about, it's just a pretty busy week with Elevate stuff. So here's a little peek into the real life of an elevater...

What happens when you dump a cooler of ice-cold water on your roomate in the shower?

You get a bathtub full of pinecones, redbugs and spiders. I'm not even gonna lie though, it was really funny.

If you weren't at Amplified, you should have been!

2007-03-19T12:56:00.000-06:00

Amplified was great. Friday night we packed out the Annex. Obed Edom was great and Chad spoke a great word to our students. Saturday night only got crazier when we had a barbecue and a No Talent Show in the back of the Annex, after the students spent the day renovating some Baton Rouge high schools.

Saturday only got crazier when Amplified joined Latenite at HPC's Highland Campus. Our own Refuge Band did worship and Chad spoke again. It was great! We even had some on-the-spot baptisms in the HPC lake! No, we don't have a baptismal at the lake - it's just a muddy lake! Old school, baby...

This was my view of the Amplified service from the sound booth...

God showed up (as if we doubted he would) and it was slammin. It is so refreshing to see a bunch of crazy kids on fire for Jesus, ready to change the world.

Amplified weekend!

2007-03-16T10:51:00.000-06:00

Here is a pic from our Pre-Amp service, this past Wednesday night. If you don't know, Amplified is a weekend where Refuge (highschool) and Pathfinders (j-high) come together and pursue God like crazy. It all starts on Friday night with some worship from Obed Edom (Christ for the Nations) and a message by Chad Daniel. You never know with Chad - it could go all night long. Saturday everyone will go downtown and renovate some local highschools and it all culminates on Saturday night, when Amplified joins Latenite (college and young-adult) for service. It is gonna be a crazy weekend!

Sanders

2007-03-14T12:39:00.000-06:00

Last week, Full-Time Elevate (and Mrs. Susan) went to Mercy Ministries, in West Monroe. On our way home we were all starving and hit a long stretch of highway with NOTHING in sight. So, our fearless leader, Michelle, decided the absolute next resteraunt we see, we are going to eat at. That place would end up being a fine dining establishment called Sanders. I was not very happy about stopping here, but decided to make the best of it. Little did we know it would end up being one of the highlights of our entire trip! The food was great, the people were very friendly (it was in a town with a population of 80) and I think we were thier biggest rush in years! They also had a soft serve ice cream machine that Kaycee got a little carried away with.

Elevate in Relevant Mag

2007-03-12T21:17:00.000-06:00

Elevate has an advertisement in the latest issue of Relevant Magazine. That is pretty cool, if you ask me. I even made it in the ad. (Thanks Rob) It's a picture of the back of my head that may be slightly larger than a grain of rice. Big time, I know. Anyway, it's a great magazine so if you haven't already - pick up a copy of it.

I gave in.

2007-03-08T22:20:00.000-06:00

Congratulations, Dan.