School Week #1

Hello! The first week of school was completed on Friday and the second week will begin tomorrow (Tuesday). It is continually life-changing to be in a place such as this, and revival is always active!

We have classes from 12:45 to 5:30 every day. Usually within that time, three people speak and there is an hour of worship. This week, we were fortunate to have Bill (Johnson) and Kris (Vallotton) speak every day. Each and every message was "out of the park".
We are required to attend exactly 2 services every week. The assigned service rotates for each student. Right now, I attend Friday night service, and the third Sunday morning service. Also, we are asked to spend one hour a week in the 24-hr prayer house, and read 2 chapters of the word from a scheduled reading plan (and report on those chapters weekly). In the future, on thursdays we will have outreach and Fridays we will hear from a guest speaker (if they bring one into their church).
We're also asked to read one book per every two weeks. They requested that we would have one read by the beginning of classes, so I have so far read "Welcoming a Visitation of the Holy Spirit" by Wes Campbell, and "Good Morning Holy Spirit" by Benny Hinn. They are both very good books, if anyone is sitting on their hands looking for that sort of thing!

Worship is always a phenomenal experience at Bethel. Everyone is so passionate about praising their King. Worship seems to go on for the majority of their services, with a sense of abandon that makes you want to remain in that atmosphere forever. We sing, laugh, shout, cry out, sing spontaneous prophetic songs, and dance, and everyone enters in. In this environment, many extraordinary events take place, including the mysterious feathers that fall from nowhere. I have seen them, and although I wasn't able to grab one, I thought it was pretty crazy. Please understand, no-one calls them "angel feathers". They are just feathers, because... that's what they are! The atmosphere is thick during these times, and although it doesn't happen every worship time, it happens enough that the church itself is accustomed to it. The feather I saw was about the size of a quarter. It had a strange "v" shape, and fell straight to the floor without blowing from the movements of people around it. Once it landed on the floor in front of me, I couldn't find it despite my searching. If I do get one, I will send it to you guys. Believe me, it's fascinating. I truly believe that God brings these sorts of signs to make us wonder. It's a dangerous place to be in when we think we know and understand everything about this mysterious, mystical relationship we have with God. When He moves, He brings the mysteries of Heaven with Him. Things like this can either be taken in stride, appropriated to the context and not blown out of proportion, or they can become stumbling blocks to keep us from deeper things.

Everyone here has a servant's heart. The bathrooms in the church stay spotless because the students choose to clean them up without being asked. (Something that inspires this is what Kris says frequently: 'You won't ever do something you can't do until you do something you can do.')It is a culture built on the principle of honor.

This week, I made the worship team for the school's worship band as the keyboardist. I am not leading, which at first, came as a surprise. This surprised me not because I thought I deserved to lead, but because I thought that I was more experienced as a worship leader than as a pianist. God corrected me by reminding me that this was a "season of rest", and that He was in charge of that process. I am so blessed to remain involved in worship here at Bethel.



testimony account
It is very hard to keep up-to-date on the testimonies around Bethel church, simply due to the massive volume of these stories. Most of them aren't even told to the students, because two or three people are healed each meeting.
Recently, a girl was healed of her bi-polar disorder after coming up for prayer about an unrelated matter.
Kris told the story about how, on a flight last week, he led a demonized man to Jesus on the way home to Redding.
So far, in the 6 regular services I have attended, I have seen 25-30 people give their hearts and lives to Jesus. The way Bill goes through this process is incredible: he invites them to the front as everyone has their eyes open and their heads raised. Then, as the congregation prays over them, they are asked to verbally confess each sin that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.
Afterwards, Bill looks each of them in the eye and asks, "Were you honest with God?" in a way that is non-threatening but still very direct. After each of them says "yes", he then tells them that every sin has been erased and they have received a new nature. The congregation stands and cheers, and it's a beautiful moment. Finally, he says, "We would never deliver a baby and leave it on the doorsteps of the hospital" so these new believers are led off to enter into discipleship courses. It's an amazing time.

Thank-you for being interested in what God is doing in me this year. I feel blessed to have such supportive friends and family. I will try to keep up with this busy schedule, and write you the stories that deserve to be told. Please, feel free to comment me after you read, and leave your name in the comment so I know who has written me. Blessings,

Connor

First Impressions

Well everyone, I have attended my first service and outreach at Bethel Church. It has already been amazing, and I can fully attest that God is doing a great work.

The building makes a good first impression. They have a massive property on the side of a hill, and the road leading to it is called "the Avenue of Nations". They have many (if not all) of the national flags of the nations of the world, and as you reach the top of the hill you get a clearer view of the 24/7 prayer house on the hill's edge. It is a circular building that overlooks all of Redding with windows on almost every side. It is called the "alabaster house", and anyone can enter at any time for prayer, communion, and soaking in the presence of Jesus.

The sanctuary wasn't as big as I imagined it to be. Their church actually has only about 450 members, but when visitors, members, and school of ministry students get added to the mix, there are about 1000-2000 people on their property daily.

On Friday, we attended our first service (as school starts this tuesday). We entered with anticipation, and we weren't the only ones excited. It was an incredible time of worship and the word.

For a note on worship, I would like to say that I have never been in such a passionate, inviting worship service. You can feel the love that people have for their God, and the love that they have for one another. Many danced in very expressive ways, while others simply observed and waited for the Spirit to fall. Then a man named Paul Manwaring spoke on sacrifice and restraint. It was a beautiful, moving message. Afterwards, many went to the altar to receive their healing (as well as prayer for other needs) and I moved seats to the front just to watch what God was doing. Many people received his touch, becoming drunk in the Spirit and entering further into worship. It was possible that some received their healing in that moment, although I saw nothing definitive in that moment. The presence of the Spirit was there in glory, however.

testimony#2


On saturday we went out and did street evangelism by serving the disenfranchised a hot meal. They know we are coming to certain areas, so they gather expectantly. In total, bethel does 4 street outreaches a week, and two of them are meals (saturdays: the meals are taken to the streets, sundays: the meals are offered at the church) So Chad and I went, served food, met people, prayed for the sick, and offered encouragement. I will post the pictures of this experience on facebook for everyone to enjoy! (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14418&l=ae1d6&id=634156160)

Anyway, a member of another group felt a specific pain in his knee before he left. When they arrived at their location (a skatepark) the guy began talking with someone and realized that this person had the knee problem.

He said, "Does it hurt in this exact spot?", pointing at where it hurt on his own knee.

"Yeah!" The kid said.

"And it feels like someone took a drill to it, or the claw of a hammer to it? An intense pain?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?" The skater said, really surprised.

"Well, Jesus told me, and he wants to heal you. Can we pray?" And from there, they prayed and saw the knee pain healed immediately.

(Note: I am not sure of the extent that this skater had hurt his knee. It could've been anything from mild bruising to an actual disorder, but either way, it's a miracle. To God be the glory!)

Blessings,
Connor

Arrived In REDDING!

Hey everyone!

We arrived in Redding yesterday, after an amazing journey across most western states! It was an incredible trip, in every respect, as God kept us safe and looked after every detail along the way. We made excellent time, and we went through probably 20 radar traps without a problem (obviously, because we weren't breaking the law!).

It is absolutely beautiful country along the west coast. We traveled down the I5, so we weren't close enough to see the Pacific. Still, the weather just continued to become warmer and warmer, and we got some nice photos from the trip. If you'd like to see them, I will add them to my facebook. (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14316&l=d11cd&id=634156160)


Testimony #1
Well, considering that this blog is called "These Are Your Stories", I will now tell of my first tale of God's provision. Many of you know that there have been many hoops that Chad and I have jumped through to get across the border.

We had some anxiety as we approached the crossing, having prepared long and hard to make sure we had done everything in our power to get across to Washington St. We dressed up nicely and shaved (first time in a long while!), and spent about 40 minutes in the lineup of vehicles approaching the toll.

We prayed and asked God for favor, claiming our identity as children of the King. (Royalty don't have a problem getting held up at borders!) Chad prayed more specifically for us to encounter a Christian border official.

We were sent into a particular building for processing, and within 10 minutes we were called forward by a border official. He asked about our business, and we explained our situation as I showed him my acceptance letter. He read a handful of lines without speaking to us.

"Do you guys love Buddhists?" He asked. "It's a yes or no question."

"Yes" I replied.

"You guys must be Christians. 'Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you' stuff, right?"

"Yeah, that's us." I said.

He went on to read for a little while longer, asking for only one other document from Bethel (which was amazing, because I had prepared about 10 legal documents, and so had Chad, and he didn't even look at Chad's!). Again, he just read in silence.

"Are you guys going to blow up any abortion clinics?" He asked, without humor.

"No sir," I said. "We love those people too."

He told me that that was a good answer, and that he'd have no problem giving us the proper paperwork for the full stay in the U.S. He even went as far as to not put an expiry date on the process, so we could stay as long as we needed.
He said "God Bless" as he stamped our passports, and the whole ordeal lasted probably 20 minutes. They didn't even look in our vehicle, and they had no skeptical inquiries.

This is an incredible example of God's favor! We have heard from other students, one in particular, who was interrogated for almost an hour by one border official. This student even had the border official withdraw his weapon to scare the student into possibly saying something that would spoil his visa application! That student, Shawn, also made it across by God's grace.

I pray that this story would bless you by verifying God's favor in your own life. I believe that this story contains the blessing of God over any international issue you may encounter in the future. Believe God, and be encouraged!

Blessings,
Connor

Update: On The ROAD!

Hey All!
Just a quick note to keep you up to speed on things: We are currently in the midst of our three day journey to Redding. Please say a quick prayer of protection, and favor at the border, for me and Chad as we embark tomorrow for Vancouver! (If you do it right after you read this, then you'll definitely remember to pray)

I want to say thank you to everyone from CLF who supported me with their kind encouragement through the blessings they spoke to me, and the offering the church raised for me. That has put me through the roof, so to speak! I am blessed beyond measure, that much is sure. But I know that I am blessed to be a blessing, so I want you to know that your seed is on good soil. God is going to do a great work in us all.
Blessings,
Connor