In 2008 I embarked on a journey that changed my life forever. I hit 11 different countries in the span of 11 months. I held orphans, hugged widows, built orphanages, taught in schools, taught in churches, planted churches, talked with prostitutes, fed beggars, and more.

There's something about serving a cause bigger than yourself...

... it transforms you.

Check out the video above. Watch it. Chew on it. Consider creating a profile to learn more (choose a Race).

 

So consider going. It's worth it.

>>Read LIVE stories from the World Race here<<

Leave a comment and let me know if you'd like to talk more about the Race with me.

 

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Their eyes got really wide and their mouths dropped. He stared up at me from his wheelchair in eager expectation. I'm not even sure I could believe the words that came out of my mouth, but I'm sure that I spoke them in faith.

God - grow my faith in the way that You're going to grow Glenn's leg.

 

Years ago, God gave me a vision of a center in the red light area of Bangkok. Exactly what that would look like I didn't know but I had images and ideas. One of those images was a coffee shop with live music played by visiting musicians. The coffee shop would be a place where men visiting the area would be welcome. Yes, – the demand side. We have worked with the women for years and maintain that as our focus. However, we have also come to feel God's heart for the men who find themselves in the area and are often very broken, lonely, and trapped. Many have been burned by the church and turned away in bitterness. Many have failed in broken relationships and feel doomed to fail time and time again. Some are sex addicts who hate themselves but cannot see the way out. Others are on a journey seeking they don't know what, and hoping for an experience to give them some revelation of that which they seek. These men come from every nation, every language, and every religion. They are old, young, rich, poor, social elite and social outcast, dogmatically religious, embracing all religion, or in total rejection of all religion. Brokenness, loneliness, and despair are not picky and find their way into the hearts of all types of men. The vision I had was a coffee shop that would welcome these men and give them a place to be heard and to find hope.

 

God provided the building in the red light area last December. That in itself was a miracle and the first confirmation that this vision was not one I had made up in my imagination but close to God's heart and part of His agenda.

 

This past week a team of men from Michigan, Colorado, and Kansas, came to launch the remodeling and building improvements. They worked hard for several days and we began to see glimpses of the vision becoming reality. Their last night here we gathered in the empty room of the future coffee shop. Several on the team were professional musicians and that night, John, on the guitar and Ferl with an improvised drum set, sat facing the street and began to play. The open door was an invitation with no explanation. People walking by paused and did a double-take. A representation of the world walked by: foreign men with Thai prostitutes, European travelers, Uzbek and Russian streetwalkers, Middle Eastern businessmen, and Thai vendors who set down their heavy baskets and waved at us through the window.

 

The music was passionate, vibrant and yet soothing as it called out to the weary travelers. Many paused, but then went on their way – Until he came. He popped his head around the doorframe cautiously and we beckoned him in. "Can I bring my beer?" he asked. We nodded; the music continued. He entered and stood watching the musicians. As he listened, the music began to reach in beneath the hardened surface. His eyes were red from drinking but the expression in his face softened as he listened. Someone asked, "Where are you from?" He said, "It's not where I'm from but where I'm going that matters." He took a couple photos and then showed the picture of his 3 week old son on the back of his camera. John, the guitarist asked, "Can I pray for your son?" "Yeah, sure." John prayed for the baby and then for the baby's father. "Thanks." The man's eyes were wet and tender. He looked around at us all. "Thank you," he said again. He lingered a bit more and then as he turned to go, he said, "Thanks for letting me bring my beer into church."

 

What gave him the idea this was church? The music the guitarist played would steal any show. We all just sat around, some singing, some chatting, some dancing; mostly just watching the passers by, delighted at their reactions and enjoying the moment. We had no agenda other than to play music, to be present, and to welcome those who found their way in. The man came in with his beer and left feeling good like he had been in church. An open door and excellent music invited him; a listening ear welcomed him; a thoughtful prayer for his newborn son ministered to him. He came in just as he was; curious, cautious, and beer in hand. We may never know his story, why he was here, or where he was going. But, for that brief moment, we saw a glimpse of God's heart reaching out to this man and to all the men who will come in to the coffee shop in the future. "Come in for coffee; stay for church. Come as you are but don't leave the same."

 

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It's been awhile since I've written something about human trafficking. I'm still very passionate and still just as involved - no worries. I walked past an alleyway here in downtown Nashville the other day that was cramped, dark, and full of neon. As I looked at the signs heralding crowds of people through their doors, I realized what it was.

 

My heart still shivers at the thought.

 

I'm moving to Georgia sometime at the end of the summer. I've been looking at opportunities to get involved with some things in the Atlanta area. A friend pointed me towards Nightlight International, who is opening a base in Atlanta. I'm jazzed at the thought and plan on committing it to prayer, as well as what I might be able to do serving with that and homelessness. I know God's got something up His sleeve for me.

 

I read the above blog from Nightlight and it made me smile - BIG. It's one of Nightlight's stories from the front lines. You can read more here...

 

 

"I'm not from Nashville. I'm from Columbia. There's a correctional facility around there and, well, I got out about a month ago."

I keep shaking my fist at God. I'm furious.

 

I can't help but wonder if God's thrown me on my back for a purpose. At about four o'clock in the morning I could almost audibly hear Him yelling at me trying to get my attention, but I chose to act like a five-year-old with his arms crossed and a pouty lip to boot!

 

I didn't want to talk to Him.

Why do you think God doesn't always heal?

Why do you think we get thrown on our back sometimes?

And are you a doctor willing to see me for free? Haha...

I get really bored when I'm not challenged. I quickly want to throw in the towel and walk away because there's really no point to doing what I do. I remember being challenged back in high school. I hated AP Chemistry because it was so tough, but that's exactly why it was my favorite class. I was challenged. 

 

It's the same way right now. One of the reasons I'm doing what I'm doing is because it's challenging. It's challenging to learn a completely new trade that I had no interest in before (but that I'm surprisingly learning to enjoy). It's challenging to refine my character day in and day out. It's challenging to overcome resistance and write the things that I don't want to write. Some days it's challenging to drag my feet out of bed before nine o'clock.

 

 

On the other side of everything I do is a changed world. Orphans are fed, justice is served, miracles happen, homes are provided, people daily step into a new relationship with Christ, and surprisingly, I dream even more.

 

I have ideas and I have dreams that might take a lifetime to achieve. I want to put a dent in human trafficking before I die. I want to build my own music studio where 70% of the profits go to nothing but building orphanages overseas (10% to live on; 10% back into the studio; 10% to help support me). I want to become a "father" to many. I want to write a book. More importantly, I want to leave His glory in my wake.

 

I don't want to waste my time coasting through life. That's stupid. Why do just enough to get by?

 

 

Just read this story from the mission field.  One of our World Racer's wrote it, Marissa Villa.  She's awesome.  It's a long post, but well worth the read.  Let's just say - they're living it out.  They are living out this walk of faith in one crazy abandoned kind of way.

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They met for the first time in the Atlanta, Georgia airport back in May 2009. Matt Patch, Austin Anglea and Dan Snyder: instant brothers with much in common. After training camp the three of them had dreams and visions of the Lord using them together. Even though they'd talked about it with each other, none really knew what it could possibly look like.
In November 2009, Matt, Dan and Austin were baptized together in the Jordan River by their brother, Aaron Bruner.  As they prepared for the baptisms, they reminisced about the dreams and visions the Lord had given them and how He was going to use the three of them in His Kingdom to do huge things (read Aaron's blog about it here).

It's now Feb. 26, 2010, and the three have gathered in Jinja, Uganda.

Austin was in town purchasing bus tickets for his team as Dan and Matt took a boda boda, or a motorcycle taxi, into town to do some work on the Internet.

Little did they know that God was about to use these three transformed men--one a former teacher/coach, another a former realtor, and the other a former cop--in a mighty way. Just one to three years ago they were living for themselves, living the American Dream, the party life. Today they were living for the Kingdom.

As Matt and Dan rode towards the town of Jinja on the back of the boda bodas, they saw a man surrounded by a group of people, laying on the ground to the left of the road.  As the bodas slowed, the man, who was covered in blood, came to his feet. He'd obviously been hit by a car or thrown off of a boda, but seemed OK. The drivers kept moving.   

As the boda bodas came around a slight bend in the road, Matt and Dan noticed a motorcycle laying there. Its pieces were strewn across the road. As the bodas slowed, a young girl of about 7 years old came into view. She was wearing a pink dress and her face and arms were covered in blood, but she at least was standing.

But just past her, a group of about 15 people were surrounding something else on the road. The boda bodas stopped in front of the group and a small boy, also about 7 years old, came into view. His body was laying in the middle of the road.

He was lifeless.
 
"He's dead," they thought.

A man shaked the boy, trying to bring him back to life, but he lay limp.

Dan and Matt pushed through the crowd to get to the boy who had a four inch bleeding bulge on his forehead. His mouth and ear was spilling blood.

Matt prayed as Dan looked around for a ride to get the boy to the hospital.

It was then that Austin arrived on another boda boda that was coming from the other direction. Austin jumped off of the motorcycle and immediately ran to the boy.

"The kid's dead," Dan told him.

Dan told Austin that someone in the crowd was willing to take the boy to the hospital. The two of them and another man carried the lifeless boy's body to the car.

"Do you feel a pulse or see him breathing?" Dan asked Austin.

Austin stopped his prayer mid-sentence, looked up, and simply responded, "No."

As they lay the boy in the backseat of the car, Austin pulled his sweatshirt off and put it under the boy's head. As he did this, the boy's chest started to rise and fall.

He was breathing.

The prayers for the boy continued as Dan, Matt and Austin climbed back on boda bodas. Matt and Dan rode to the hospital to pray over the boy again. The doctor on duty said the hospital didn't have the necessary medicine to stop the bleeding and swelling in the boy's head.

Matt and Dan decided they'd have to buy the medicine. They ran across the street and bought some, ran back, and gave it to the doctor.

They prayed again. 
 
Meanwhile, Austin hopped back on his boda boda along with the boy's friend and the driver on a mission to find the boy's parents. They drove along back roads, through clothes hanging on lines, and finally arrived in the boy's village. His parents weren't home, but they managed to find neighbors who agreed to tell the boy's parents about the emergency.

A few hours later, Dan and Matt were at the hospital again to pray for the boy once more. They found him, his mother, and his close family friend there. They were told the boy, Trevor, and his sister, Precious, were both hit by a boda boda.

And they both survived.

The family is Christian and the family friend who was there is a pastor. Dan and Matt explained what had happened, that Trevor hadn't been breathing when they'd first arrived, but that his breathing came back after they started praying for him.

As they prayed for him again, Trevor began to move his fingers and his eyes started to flutter. His mother, Sarah, thanked God and thanked them for praying for her son.

They promised to keep Trevor and Precious in their prayers, and walked away knowing they'd experienced the miraculous ability of the Lord and prayer.

Austin:
I remember becoming irritated as it was taking a ridiculous amount of time to buy the tickets for the team. But it was no accident for it was the Lord delaying me for what was soon to happen!  After my time spent in town I headed back on the motorcycle taxi.  I looked ahead and saw a crowd of people and as soon as we pulled up close I saw Dan in the middle taking charge of the situation, and by the look on his face I knew something was wrong. I tapped my driver and told him to stop, I needed off!  I remember seeing the boy laying in the middle of the road saturated in blood, Dan looked at me and said, "he's dead."  Going up to the boy he was lifeless, as his eyes were open but glazed over, he surely looked dead. There was a man there trying to massage his chest trying to get his heart working. Not knowing what else to do, I put a hand on the boy and began to pray in the Spirit as Dan figured out a car to put the kid in.......we carried Trevor to the car while all three of us continued to pray and then the car pulled off to take the boy to the hospital. As quick as that, it was done.....riding back home on the taxi after we went and told the people in the boy's village, I began to cry thinking about the whole situation, but then I began to think how God aligned the three of us in order to be there for that boy, and I began to rejoice!  God has a plan for that boy and he wanted him to live, and how grateful the three of us are to be a part of what God wanted done that day.

Matt:
Once we pulled up I was scared, shocked, and felt useless. I was looking at a lifeless child. A million things started to create a wall in my mind. Then God busted through all of the feelings and said, "hold on, I'm bigger than that... pray." So, I did. I walked away from today realizing that being in God's will is just that... being. I can't do anything. However, in Christ I can do everything. All I have to do is "be". Did I raise the dead today? No. I witnessed the beautiful gift of life that was being stolen given back. Glory be to God. How wonderful and amazing He is to let us be a part of His plan, His miracles... His son Trevor's life.

Dan: