Bethel Church.

Two weekends ago I spent some time at Bethel Church in Redding California.

Many of you have been asking how it was.  Apparently word has been getting out about the miraculous things that are happening at this place.

I went for many reasons.  I do want amazing things to happen in peoples’ lives, and I had heard that amazing things were happening there.  I’ve also been looking at ministry schools, and they have one which my friend Phillip attends.

A great opportunity came up to go with my friend David, who needed to take a trip up north anyway.  It worked out beautifully.  David and I made the 8 hour drive from Los Angeles with high hopes.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect; I’ve heard about people being healed from cancer, blind people seeing, and deaf people hearing.  That’s not something I’m used to, but those are the stories coming out of there.

I knew I couldn’t expect Bethel to look “normal” because of the extraordinary things I’d heard were happening there.  So when I saw people rolling on the ground laughing, and others twitching because they were affected by the Spirit, I tried not to judge it.    I saw people laying hands on each other to pray for them.  In one sanctuary during a healing prayer session a woman came up to the microphone and shared her story.  “The doctor told me that they were going to have to operate on my knee.  I told him I don’t accept your sentence.  I came here and the Lord healed me!”  She shouted this as she jumped up and down and danced.  Then she grabbed the mic again.  “I wasn’t able to walk up stairs, now look at me!”  I stared at her, amazed, and thought to myself, yeah, it’s weird, or rather, it’s different then what I’m used to.  But people are being healed.   I’d rather it be different and people be getting healed than a service I comfortable with where nothing happens.   I saw another woman who’d received healing dancing with her cane because she no longer needed it.

My friend David and I may not have received healing for ourselves that day, but we left hopeful, and feeling greatly blessed.

Check out the stories yourself if you want to hear more: http://www.ibethel.org/site/testimonies

It’s not about what we do.  It’s what God does through us.  We just have to allow Him.

“Passion and the anointing run in parallel courses. A person with passion will take risks. Everything you want in the realm of the Kingdom is found through this veil of difficulty by stepping into the realm of inconvenience. You don’t get it by coasting on yesterday’s breakthrough. You were born for expansion.”

-       Bill Johnson (Pastor at Bethel Church)

Farewell to Friends

It’s been some time since I last wrote an entry.   I have been busy with work in my internship that is now coming to a close after a year commitment.

I have been working in Spain with TLC Internationl’s “Edge Project” A non profit that brings individuals to the Edge of the Mediterranean to live in community and go a bit deeper in learning about the God of their youth, and the impact that faith has on art in cultures that believe little of God.

photo 4

Most of the team has now left us, which is one reason why I have some time to write I suppose. We just saw two our “eddgies” off this morning to the bus stop. And my friend Matt left last night around midnight. The community we have been living in has brought us very close which makes leaving very hard.

Here ‘s some pics of Mustache Monday…. The girls even joined in

Join alone side,and support Sean

The world is not your own…

The world is not your own.
but it is all for you.
your possibilities are endless.
The places you would like to go.
the people you would like to meet your dreams are ready to unfold as with the path at your feet.
daring and boldness are at the cuffs of you sleeves, they swing as you walk and head toward your dreams.
through the snow, or the fire, where ever you want to go.
taking things faster even when it’s slow.
The sunshine is for you, and the rays that bring heat.  The chaos and the drama, it can all be made neat.
peace is around you, its there if you seek,
go where you may go with no need to speak.
be still and now that God is around you.
Let your ears be at the ready, and be willing to move.
For peace, for love,and all that is true… Go forth, and may God always go before you.

God’s promise and The Great Adventure

Just the other day, I (Sean) was standing by the water before the sun was going down. I had this song playing in my mind. I was quietly singing a part of the song, “wash me, white as snow,” and as the words started to float in my mind, the rain softly began to fall.  I couldn’t hold back a smile.  There was still a bright light from the sun as it was starting to dip behind the buildings and at that moment, I turned around to see the most beautiful rainbow over the Mediterranean.  It was full and perfect, and even had an accomplice, like an encore, a second rainbow that sang in with a light accompaniment.

It is an amazing fact that the elements for a rainbow are always there; we just can’t always see them.  A rainbow is also a promise from God, and similarly, His promises are there even though we have forgotten, or just don’t see them.

Imagine if we believed that every magical moment of everyday was just for us?

Beyond the theories of science lies the truth in Love.
 That which is unseen, goes beyond living and dying. It is not limited to the laws of thermodynamics. It doesn’t burn out, it doesn’t go extinct; it is eternal.  The visible is merely a compass pointing to the invisible… so that men are without excuse of what lies unseen and waits to be discovered.

God is the greatest adventure.  Seeking after his mysteries is the most wonderful journey leading me to receive the truth of how loved we are!

What if every magical moment of everyday WAS just for us?

Listen to song:   http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/White+As+Snow/2wSRWF

Santander Spain

After teaching a small improv workshop in the town of Albir just south of Altea, my friend Omar and I drove to Alicante, the largest city in the area.

I must thank my friend Omar. He not only has taken me to and from the airport, but he has also been my point of contact when I’ve been in a pickel. Thank you Omar, you have some of the greatest qualities a friend can possess. There is much for me to be thankful for here in Spain. Clearly, you are one of the blessings I am grateful for. Thank you!

I was flying to Santander to be with a group of students in their early 20′s in this discipleship-training program. One of our interns for the summer Edge Project has been there for a few months. I went to be of what service I may, offer some positivity and teach some improvisation.

I have been here in Santander for several days now. The group of students here has formed a band and will perform a concert at a church some two hours ride north (I believe.) I have been asked to videotape the performance. Their videographer is also the keyboard player and can’t do both:)

It’s nice here. The sky reminds me of home. And the family I stay with makes me feel like I’m in the states (they’re from Washington and California, and Chicago) until I walk out the door and hear the chatter of neighbors speaking words I don’t know. I still understand facial expressions and gestures with hands. I still enjoy laughter and can read smiles. Many things are different but many things are the same. I feel my American eyes have changed, and I can feel when something new forces me to change they way I think. It normally doesn’t go without a fight of my stubborn self. But, after a weighing of sober judgment, I can choose what is good. I can see what is best for the people here–not always, but I’m still learning. I realize I’m not here to change people to think like me, or to say, “you should do it this way, it’s what we do in America,” rather, to understand how they think so I can communicate, relate, and converse.
I have a disadvantage and an advantage. My disadvantage is obvious with the language, but I’m learning, and same goes for the history of Spain. I’m learning more and more each day. And the more we learn of history, the more we can see why we are the way we are. It gives me much more understanding. I feel as though each new fact equips me with more understanding of the shoes that people walk in, and I like that. I have grown to love understanding people. I am in love with their story. I am growing more in love with God through all of this—the people, the places, and the heart beat of it all. Someone once said, “We should live out our life as a masterpiece”. Not only is it a joy to create, but is a pleasure to see. I think that’s what a masterpiece is. That’s how our lives should be.

So far so good.

Thank you Germany

Germany: Wow! What can I say? Truly surprised. From Oliver and his loving family to Mosaik Düsseldorf, you are Amazing! A wonderful community! The castle, the mountain, the laughs, oh my! (vondersean:) kings would envy such a sight we saw. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. You left Alan and I with much to think on and very blessed. I will be keeping in touch. We must. Mosaik Düsseldorf, you are Amazing–a wonderful community full of love, light, and laughter. My time here was an absolute joy. It seems like only a matter of time until I see you beautiful people again. Thanks to all of you so much for welcoming me in. You all have added such a richness to my stay. Blessings to you all. You will be missed. My best to you.
And Alan, my friend, a great thanks to you for all you shared with me.
Truly your friend
Sean

Leaving London

I hugged Nats goodbye after we both ran to get to the coach. I feel if you’re not running to your next destination then… you’re really not living in the time that leads up to that point.  So, if that’s true… I’m really living.

I climbed aboard the bus (or coach as the Brits say)  with hardly enough time to take in that I was not going to see her or Isaac that night for supper or evening tea.  The bus driver right behind practically pushed me into the bus. As he closed the doors tight behind me,  I just had time to put my belongings away and sit down before we pulled away from the city of steel… Sheffield.

Nats had told me it may be hard to say goodbye since she cried when Diggery (the dog) was put in a kennel for a weekend Holiday.  I was surprised when there were no tears…humm… I blamed it on the fact that there was no real time to take in the departure, as we were to rushed for tears… at least that made me feel better.

I was with them in their home for almost two months. I got to know them well and appreciate them greatly.  We laughed, shared, argued…we did life together.  And our lives became more rich with each new bit of insight from one another.

I fell asleep on the way. God has given me a gift to sleep when I’m bored, which often got me in trouble in school, and why I don’t do church much. So, I don’t get bored, I just go to black… and then come alive.

I talked to no one on the coach. I was probably the youngest person aboard.  There were wisdom and white and balding heads all around me,  I didn’t dare speak… or I would have to fight sleep, and I’d rather not.

The scenery on the way to London… I couldn’t believe that the city was just miles away, I couldn’t see it, and you never would have questioned it by looking out the large class windows.  The green country side pushing by.  If you have never gone to England, go.  Bring a water-proof jacket, get used to milk in tea, and try Marmite (yeast extract).  You don’t have to like it- you just need to try it.  And for the English…. TRY PEANUT BUTTER and JAM! (Pb&Jelly to Americans)  If you don’t, your missing out on one of the mysteries of the universe just because “it sounds weird” to you.   Try it, and prepare to have your eyes opened to a new and colorful world, where shades of gray fade away.  You wonder why the British seem more grumpy, and Americans over confident…. the secret may lie in Peanut butter.  A good balance may bring about the most sophisticated and confident man or woman.

The couch stopped and after a couple of hopeful leads I got to the city bus and told the bus driver where to go.  He smiled with dark glasses, I couldn’t see his eyes, chewing his gum as a cow chews cud and stared at me as if I was the idiot he had been waiting for.  “I don’t know where that is.”  He was half smiling as he said it.  I could feel the line of people out the door waiting to board.  And I looked at him, looking at me trying to figure out who was going to get off this bus.  Apparently, it wasn’t big enough for the two of us.  I pretended to know more than I did and stayed on the bus.  I ended up getting dropped off at the Marriott hotel because he really didn’t know where the “Travel Lodge” and Heathrow central was located… and no man should.  It’s a depressing slapped together Ikea show model motel, posing as a hotel ( it actually is a hotel, but I think the word Motel is an insult to hotels) The Travel Lodge MOTEL was the thorn in this side of town. I switched rooms after discovering the plugs didn’t work and there was just one plug in!  I had no phone in the room, the wi-fi wasn’t free, and Now since I had to take two different buses to get this waste of plywood,paint, and Plexiglas of a building, I had less than 5 pounds to my name.  It wasn’t enough to get dinner, nor was it enough to get the shuttle in the morning to the airport.

I sat in the room alone sulking as the sun went down, an ugly building hid the suns beauty, so I had to just enjoy the sun rays and the color of the sky. I sipped on tea, cause they had a tea kettle in the room but no phone.  I began to not like London,  I couldn’t see Big Ben anywhere I looked or anything that resembled a modern, thriving city.  I began to wonder if the newspapers, magazines, and movies had lied to us all this time.  I looked at a building and wished Guy Fawkes were there about to succeed at what he failed at.  But of course I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.  I was just a volcano steaming, and too tired to erupt.  I was hungry, tired from traveling, broke, and alone.

I later discovered that when purchasing my airline tickets, I had apparently signed up for some type of rewards in the black print. I was unaware that these “rewards” slowly and stealthy would bleed dry my checking account, withdrawing monthly, even closed out one of my accounts when it emptied it of funds and then, began to empty the next account.  So, my Master card was a mere piece of plastic, good only for scraping windows on cold frosting mornings. I had some money in paypal but no way to access it.

I began to think that London hated me, perhaps was trying to keep me here to devour me, destroy my communication, and kill my spirit.  I’d be damned if I was going to let that happen.

I had some potato chips and a couple of snickers bars, that became my supper, I took a shower and washed the travel off, and watched a movie on my lap top I hadn’t seen… I prayed to the God of my youth, and a flicker of hope began to burn within me.  I fell asleep.

I caught the city bus in the morning it was just about 2 pounds and I felt good, I had plenty of time, I was well-rested, shaved my face new, and wore a smart shirt that made me look like I could contribute to society.

I went through security like an old pro, smiled when they saw my passport, and wished secretly that it was a fake- I was really a secret agent and they had no idea that I could disarm and dismantle a gun in the blink of an eye.  A deadly force to be reckoned with!  I put my shoes back on after not setting off alarms, I felt a little funny in my socks.  I  made my way into the world of international consumerism.  The Airport felt more like a mall then the mall.  In fact, at one point I almost forgot where I was…somehow, I  realized I needed to look for my boarding gate, and found my way through the maze of perfume smells and cosmetics… how I got there I don’t know, but others were following me and looking around confused.

A fight attended asked me if I would like to switch seats so I could have more room.  Three of us guys were shoulder to shoulder, and there was open seating.  “Sweet” I thought.  “Sure” I said.  I moved seats, and I caught myself smiling as I had entertainment in front of me, I had a wide variety of movies to choose from and plate of warm airline food placed delicately on my tray table.  The food was welcomed like a homemade thanksgiving meal.  I was delighted, giddy, and heading home.  With a good movie, a warm meal, and a blue airplane blanket, I felt like you do when you’re a kid and you stay home from school and your mom treats you like a king.  I was thankful, and felt like someone upstairs really cared about us little people down here.  Maybe even more than we know.

I love the Vancouver airport and their free wi-fi and indoor planetarium.  There may be more plant life in the Vancouver airport then in the entire State of Nevada. That’s not all… I stood for 10 minutes watching in awe a large jelly fish in an oversize aquarium.  They looked fluid and alien, yet beautiful . Three other people came to my side, I could hear them breath in “wow” us strangers didn’t look or talk at each other, but together we shared in this moment of curiosity, separated only by 3 inches of glass, from a dangerously mystical creature.

A quick check of my email and a good friend was letting me know he was now actually able to pick me up at LAX.  Sitting in the seats of the Vancouver airport moments from boarding… I already felt like I was at home.

Special Thanks

To all of you who have enabled me to come across the globe… that have made this possible…Thank you.

I want to thank the Randall’s for putting me up, and taking me in and treating me as their very own for the time I have been in Sheffield. Isaac and Nat… love you guys.

Thank you to ALL of Mosaic Sheffield especially the Preston’s. Thanks Andrew for providing a place for me to Crash and of course, “gears of War”/Halo 3 time:)Ryan, thank you for performing Musical improv with me, and trying new things in the improv world, and for the laughs over pints, as well as serious conversations over tea or coffee. Chris and Ruth thank you! You made Taco night possible and you always have been thankful, and graceful, and provided for me in ways I may not even know. Your grace is most appreciated.

Thank you to Chris and Sara and Beth for taking care of me while I was sick in Edinburgh… You guys would have made my mother Proud! I seriously can’t thank you guys enough. You were my family away from home. Alan missed out:) Even though I was sick. I so enjoyed my time with you. I miss you already.

Thank you to the Radford’s, Sam and Rachel. Sam for your great views, conversation, and incite, and your sacrifice to help make MB what it is. And Rachel for your amazing tactical booking abilities, you truly are a Godsend.

Thank you to David Magidoff, you have always been there for me. Thank you for being a true friend.

Thank you to the Money Butler Crew in LA, you guys have been a wave of continual support and a source of inspiration. Thank you all for being such a great warmth for cold City’s.

Thank you to MBUK. For accepting an American weirdo. For stepping outside your boxes, and being brave and challenging yourself in and out of class! Here is to a great show on Saturday! Thank you for coming out to classes and giving me a reason to be in your city. And for hugging and high fiving despite the culture

Thank you to Arianna and Steven, and for the Edge project, which has made Spain a warmer place (when you didn’t think it could get any warmer Thank you for giving me the opportunity to lead, to serve, and to see my family in Idaho. You have blessed me more then you may ever know. I am deeply thankful, and humbled by your grace.

Thank you to TLC and Edge Project.

To Mosaic LA…Lisa, David Arcos & fam, Alan Luu, Phillip Attmore, Amanda (proof Angel’s exist) Butcher, Bill and all the rest of the awesome Urban Poets!! And thank you to those families that put us all up, and took care of a group of artists, and dancers in Edinburgh.

Thank you to Destiny Church In Edinburgh, Pete, and the staff that took care and fed us.

Thank you to the City of Aberdeen Scotland and Encounter 08′ and the White’s (that’s a family’s last name, I’m not being raciest:)

Thank you to Amy Noble.

Thank you to Renee Wong Mytar for your awareness, and your grace.

Colleen Van Houwe- my brain… thanks for making my writing look better. And sharpening Iron.

Thank you Ben Phen, David Lecross, David Alex, Ryan self, my brothers from a fare.

Thank you to John Corrigan my roomie and a wizard, thanks for explaining the truth about dinosaurs and why they kick ace!

Thank you Sarah Cornell, Graham Jones, Mark Noguchi, April Spry “spry’n it up!”, Amy Smith, Katrina Moore, The Trevino’s,  Kwesi and Samira.  Your support, and friendship is greatly appreciated.

The members of Soda Jerk, Ear buds, chauffeur, and the barrel,  Joe Clabby, Aaron Massy, Bobby J, and Kevin B. Thanks for your Wit and Friendship.

Melissa L. Parham Thank you, your words have soothed, and work is an inspiration. Thank you for keeping me sharp, and keeping my pen to paper. I am greatly blessed by you.

Thank you to Mosaic Sheffield. You are the Reason I have come here in the first place.

Thank you to my Family, Mom, Dad, David and Dotty, and Jenny and Richard . Your continual love and support has been a driving force for me. I love you all so so very much.

I have so many people to thank and not all of them listed…

I thank God for all of you. thanks again!

Love

Sean

Life’s little Challenges

We all face opposition at one point or another.

A friend of mine from Montana, in away, has a second chance at life after surviving from a bad car accident.  I haven’t seen him in quite a while.  It’s been years since I have returned to the last best place (Montana).

When I was younger,  I found myself working with my friend digging post holes and putting in fences on his parents ranch.  Or shooting hoops with him, and shooting rifles at gophers, and then being distracted and shooting gas caps at old abandoned cars.  Thinking that they would blow up from the heat of the bullet like in the movies,  and the two of us would some how survive .  I don’t know why we did that.  I remember even then thinking it was a bad idea .  The car never blew up.  And we lived to tell about it.  I was older and yet, not nearly as brave as him.  I would often find myself at the brink of trouble, even disaster following along with some of those schemes.  I eventually grew out of doing those things. But, I didn’t grow out of taking risks or searching out an adventure.  I was just more mindful and wise, you could say, with what I chose to get myself into.

And as I have matured, choices and life itself really haven’t gotten easier…

We can be told we are not good enough, smart enough, tall enough, fast enough, good looking enough, able enough… We start to have all sorts of doubts in others and in ourselves.  We begin to believe in all sorts of lies.  It’s time to stop listening to the lies.

Finish strong in your work and know this world is forever different because you’re in it… and that’s pretty much science… yeah it is…

So, when your changing things… like the world with the choices you make, be aware of your actions; they help define you.

Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.
-Thomas Paine

The Castle, the People, the Fringe.

This month is Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival. It’s the largest arts festival in the world, and 12 of us from LA are here to represent a community of artists from Mosaic.  We are the Urban poets.

There is this thing here in the air in Edinburgh, Scotland. The gray skies themselves seem to have a bit more glow, as the cobbled stoned streets whisper stories from centuries past, and today’s stories are found through the hustle and bustle of shuffling feet of tourists and artists on the Royal Mile.

The Royal Mile is Old Town’s most popular and busiest tourist street (rivaled only by Princes Street of New Town). The succession of streets form the main thoroughfare that lead the way to Edinburgh Castle.  The castle rests at the top of a stone hill and, in my mind, would have been a great challenge to attack.   Resting on a hill of stone, in 2007, 1.2 million visitors made there way to historic Scotland’s most visited site. It was, today, saturated with musicians, dancers, singers, and actors–some good, some great, and some… well, amusing at best.

The fireworks from the castle on the Royal Mile, along with the lights, turned Edinburgh into a majestic place, like Disneyland is to a child, magic!

I watched the fireworks my first night from outside the kitchen window of Chris and Sarah’s flat.  They  join me, and we watched from the 3rd floor as the night lit up with colorful explosions.

We watched the first twenty minutes of Team America, then turned in.  It felt different watching. I thought it would be funny to sit and watch it with Chris, they are Polish, and are pretty good about giving me a hard time. I never finished watching the movie, I turned it off and went to bed.

At the start of the day, after coffee and breakfast Chris and I walked toward his work into the heart of Edinburgh. They loaned me there digital Camera and I took pictures as I wandered down the old stone streets and gazed at the hillside . I spent some time up on a place called “Athens of the north” Carlton Hill.  Later, that camera would be stolen, and all the pics lost.  I of course didn’t know about that yet.

I spent most of the early morning alone watching the street musicians. one guys was playing a drum I had never seen before. I watched him for 15 min.

That evening, Chris and Sarah took me out of the city near the beach.  They insisted on picking up some fish and chips. Giving me the full experience. While we waited in the queue, a group of Scottish bagpipers started up their pipes and began their parade. The streets lined with bystanders and onlookers as they played and passed by the crowed following behind them creating a precession. Sarah and Chris joked about setting it all up for me.  I was pleased by all they had done.  The bag pipers looked well rehearsed.

We took our fish and chips to the water’s edge, and watched as the tide went out, kids getting in water that seemed to me way too cold. The seagulls seemed fat from scraps of food left by humans. My Polish host family convinced me not to throw scraps to the seagulls like some secret hatred would be unleashed.  They were right, I watched as an unwanted peace of food is carelessly thrown near the bin by a passerby, birds seemed to have come from the pits of the earth and swarmed and devoured like paranas… with wings of course.

Our ride home was accompanied by a sunset on the water.  Wherever I may be in the world.  That always seems to feel like home.