Massive

Last night was a frustrating show. Very disorganized on the Christian festival side in regards to the schedule and sound system. BUT, our God is able! We saw 15 people give their lives to Christ last night! Praise God!

Tonight we are playing in a massive, massive gothic festival. The venue is huge!!! Please pray! We play at 12AM (9 PM CST). There will be thousands of people from the hardcore gothic scene there tonight. Pray that people will be drawn to Jesus when the cross is lifted up. Pray that all spiritual oppression and chemical induced states will be neutralized by God's power so that the lost who come can receive Christ with full sobriety. Pray for wisdom for David when he ends the show; what to say, how to do the altar call, anointing... Pray for Joy as she has to stand basically in the middle of the crowd to run lights. And pray that we can easily find space and time to speak to those who respond.

I'll let you know how it went when I can!

On your mark, get set...

GO! Today´s the day! The rest is over. In one hour we will be traveling to a town called Capinas for our first show. This is a Christian event and we have been praying that many pre-christians will be brought.

Speaking of prayer and I calculated that our team has spent 14 hours each in prayer SINCE MONDAY! Thats an average of 3.5 per day per person. There has been 24 hours of group prayer since Monday counting the all night prayer chain. It´s been great!

"...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4b Pray that we have confidence in the power of God and not our own.

Lots of dashes and stars

Today Joy and I went all over Sao Paulo to get some things that we needed. Its been a sad day because Joy´s friend Joyce passed away. Please pray for Joy and I and our churchas we grieve the loss of our friend. We are thankful to God that we have these days off at this time.

We have not found a good option for easy internet access which makes it difficult for us to make phone calls. But I did find a new option. If you would like to call Joy and I at our expense ($.02 a minute) you can click below. We are three hours ahead of you.



Please continue to pray. We can sense God´s power being poured out on us and our team. Last night we spent 2 hours in prayer and worship and we are beginning to do all night prayer chains every night this week in preparation for the coming days.

Detailed prayer requests:

Oct 28 - Christian Concert at a church called Christian M*e*t*a*l*F*o*r*c*e - pray that the christians there bring pre-christians
Oct 29 - T-h-o-r-n-s festival - massive g*o*t*h*i*c music festival - we play at 3 AM (12 AM CST) I believe
Oct 30 - H-o-l-e - pray for 3 managers there (1 guy, and 2 women) - the women, Lou and Norma, have seen the show before - pray that God´s power opens their hearts - this is a very heavy club, much like m-a-d-a-m-e s-a-t-a-n is.
Oct 31 - Another Christian concert - Outdoor show, pray for good weather
Nov 1 - 0-u-t-s - well known club - prideful, richer kids go to this club - pray that God will break their hearts
Nov 2 - Another show - I will have more details later
Nov 3 - H-a-n-g-e-r-110 - C-h-i-p-s-e-t Z-e-r-o concert, pray that fame and popularity will not keep this band from Jesus. Pray for their backslidden drummer and manager. Many people expected at this show. We are taking the band out to eat with us after... Pray that we are filled and used powerfully by the Holy Spirit
Nov 4 - Concert at the Main church we are working with
Nov 5 - We have been invited to play at a wedding! LOL! Would you have NLM at your wedding? I think its cool because the bride and grooms heart is that they want the pre-christians in their family to find Christ at their wedding.

Calm before the Storm

We have arrived in Sao Paulo. What a massive city! And our schedule has grown - I told you it was subject to change and additions. From today until Friday we have a break. On Friday we begin a sprint of 9 shows back to back. Wow! Please begin praying about those shows.

There are two particularly significant nights that I would like to request special prayer for. The first is T-h-o-r-n-s Fest on Halloween and the second is when we play with a band called C-h-i-p-s-e-t Z-e-r-o (they have opened for bands like slipnot - huge secular band). Both shows have an audience potential of 5000 people.

Internet access is much more difficult to get in Sao Paulo. I am not sure how much time I will get after Friday.

One exciting note, that guy I talked about in my previous blog - the one that gave his life to Christ this weekend - showed up at David´s speaking engagement at a church and wept through the entire worship service with his hands raised. He came forward in response to David´s message and then went out to eat with David and others from our team. PLUS, after the Friday night show he went home and threw away all of his ´bad stuff´ like movies, music etc. AND he and his girlfriend decided to sleep in separate beds! Nobody on our team told him to do any of this! All authentic work of the Holy Spirit. David said he had asked David what it meant to surrender his life to Jesus and David just replied, ´Ask Jesus, he´ll show you´. Looks like Jesus did!! We have a couple interviews with this guy on camera that I will be bringing back with me to show all of you! Very powerful!

Look up Go up

"I was in Minneapolis!!" That's what this guy told me on Thursday night as David and I engaged in a conversation with him. It was a great conversation because this guy was explaining his Brazilian perception of Minnesota winters - not very positive. What a small world to find someone in Brazil who as been to Minneapolis... not so coincidental however... more divine appointment like because that same guy came to our show last night and in flowing tears gave his life to Jesus. Little did I know that God was using our fun and casual conversation to plant seeds to soften any hardness in his heart.

It was so fun, so exciting, so JOYFUL to see God use our Thursday night show to prepare his heart for Friday night's show... and David speaking tonight at a church so this guy will have more reinforcement at this infancy stage of his faith.

So many people were there last night and the crowd was GREAT! They were jumping around and cheering and silent during the intense scenes. Afterwards David walked into the middle of the crowd and explained the gospel of Jesus and asked people to respond. How amazing it was to hear the resounding Portuguese voices of Brazilians receive Christ! It seemed to be a culmination of all God has been doing in Curitiba with No Longer Music since we people were there from our shows last week. He is faithful!

I have been reading NT Wrights commentary on Romans and learning about how Abraham's trust in God's covenantal promise was fulfilled multiple centuries later in Jesus - that his family would cover all nations. Abraham didn't know it would happen this way, but he trusted that God, by His power, would do it. Therefore, I have been challenged to trust Jesus when things don't go the way I expect them to. He WILL come through, He IS trustworthy and He means what he says when he wants to 'set the world to rights' (make the world right in NT Wright language).

I hope that made sense. If anything I hope you can see the joy of the Lord that I am experiencing here in Brazil. I miss my family, friends and church at home and I am anxious to talk with you in more detail. Thank you for your prayers!!

One more amazing story. Four years ago, Cheago (spelling?) was on his way to see a prostitute when some stranger stopped him and said, "Jesus loves you". It stopped him in his tracks and he was feeling bad about his decision to go see a prostitute. Then he walked another direction and came upon No Longer Music's show where he was exposed to the gospel. After the show he went home and tried to sleep. But for days after he felt this 'warm pressure' on him and he could not get Jesus out of his mind. So he sought out the band, found David and fell at his feet in tears asking 'What is happening to me'? David was able to explain Jesus to him and last Saturday night (four years later) I was able to meet him. He is a disciple of Jesus and involved in a local church here! Cool eh? Okay, have a good day!

Oh! And another story, and I hope to have the video online soon, last night my cue came up to emerge as Virgin Man in the show. The place was packed and I thought what a great opportunity to crowd surf. So I stood on the stage and waved people close and began to lean into them. Then when I thought they were ready to catch me I jumped a bit... falling straight to the ground. EVERYONE MOVED! It didn't hurt, thankfully, but it was very funny! So after my humiliating fall I just got up and jumped around in the crowd. The role of Virgin Man has a heavy burden that I must carry.

Running Lights with God's Eyes

Our God is very powerful and when we lift Him up in dark places he will draw men and women to Himself. While we didn't have confirmed conversions last night we had a great response. I talked to some of the guys who worked at the club and they were extremely positive and I got the e-mail address from the DJ so that I can keep contact with him. The show was in a very sophisticated club with more sophisticated people than NLM is used to and they were so focused on everything that happened. You could feel the tension during some of more intense parts of the show.

We did the whole show on a small stage and Joy had to run the lights from back stage behind the curtain. We prayed that God would help her and many of our team said it was the best lighting show yet! She rocks!

After the show we handed out fliers inviting them to the show and "after-show meet the band party" (follow-up meeting with testimonies and worship) we are having tonight. Many of those we talked to said that they will come tonight. Pray that they will and that God's spirit will press on them to come.

Dead Dog

Rob, Nigel and I went for a prayer walk today to pray through the below prayer list and tonights show ---- and we saw a dead dog.

Here is the current schedule (subject to change and additions) for when we return to Sao Paulo this Sunday. I put it in a image format so that we don't have to worry about it getting in the wrong hands through a google search:

Prayer Requests

During our team devotion time we came up with a list of important prayer requests for the next few days. I put dashes in the names of some places and people so that they do not find this page in a search.

Here is the official prayer request sheet:

This is a very important message. We are asking you to join us in praying for
several specific things that will be taking place over the next few days.

In particular, we need prayer for our next two shows:

- J-o-k-e-r-s (Thursday, October 20th)
- Golgotha (Friday, October 21st)

SPECIFICS FOR THE SHOWS:

- The stage at J-o-k-e-r-s is very small, Pray for the band as it may be difficult to
do our show on this stage.

- The Club Owners at J-o-k-e-r-s are not aware that we are Christians, please pray
that they will be open to the message.

- Pray that people who are open to the message come to the concerts and those
who will be a distraction do not.

- Pray that God's power will be there and that we will rely on his power and not
our own strength and abilities.

- Pray that alcohol and drugs will not interfere with the understand of the
message.

- Pray that people will understand the message despite language barriers and
other opposition (parts of the show are translated).

- Pray that David will know the best way to present the message at the end of
the concerts.

- Pray that many people will attend the follow up meetings and that the new
christians will be connected to the local church.

- Please pray that M-a-r-i-e-l-l-a, the lead singer in the band we are playing with on
Friday, becomes a Christian, as she is a very influential person in the
Brazilian music scene.

- Pray for the protection of everyone on the team, in terms of their health,
emotional, and spiritual levels.

- Pray that David will have the energy and know what to say as he has a
television interview on Wednesday, speaks to local YWAM leaders here on
Thursday, and as he speaks at a large church on Saturday night.

- Finally, pray for the enitre team as we prepare to go to Sao Paulo on Sunday
for the next part of our tour.

Squishy Crunch

The above title is the sound of eating chicken heart. Today was our first day off in a week - very needed. You see, on tour your sleeping and working schedule is totally out of wack. This is especially so when you have back to back concerts. For both of our concerts we didn't return home until well after 2 AM. Then the next day you have to get up and prepare for the next show.

So today we went to a national park that was b-e-a-utiful. Joy and I took the opportunity to read and pray. This place had huge waterfalls and I saw an Owl! It was only about 10 feet away from me.

After that we went to a Brazilian BBQ restaurant with all you can eat meat for $3 a plate. And this restaurant is extremely fancy and the meat was amazing (except the chicken heart)! Ten of us ate there with all sorts of wonderful steak and salad and pop and desert and the bill came to only $50!!! WOW!

Tomorrow we have to prepare for our shows on Thursday, Friday and possibly Saturday.

Thank you again for your prayers! And thanks to my friends back at home keeping the youth ministry going strong!!

Balancing Broomsticks

Tonight was not exactly what we had planned.  We had a follow up meeting for those who responded to the message of the No Longer Music show and only 2 people showed out of the many who responded.  I don’t know why we had such a small showing but it was disappointing.  However one of the guys who came really enjoyed it and said that these have been the best 2 days of his life!  Praise God!  

God did use the night for another purpose though.  We met at the church in the little town that we played in and I think our team was a good encouragement to them.  Many people from the church were there and we were able to share with them what God has been doing in our lives and they shared what God has been doing in theirs.  We prayed for them and then they blessed us by praying for us.  One woman came up to me and put her hands on my shoulders and began to pray in Portuguese for me.  Then she put her hand on my head and then my heart and then knelt down and put her hands on my feet while praying.  Very cool!  

The church is a very small building in this Mexican-looking neighborhood – houses crammed together that with concrete all around.  After the meeting a bunch of us played with the children that were there by trying to balance broomsticks on our hands.  

Tomorrow (Tuesday Oct 18) is our first full day off.  Touring with NLM is incredibly fast paced and crazy busy and sometimes pretty stressful.  But our team devotions and prayer time has been very refreshing for me.  

Follow-up

Tonight at 5 PM CST we are having a followup meeting for the people who responded to the message. I will be a part of the worship team and 3 people will be giving testimonies tonight. Please pray that the new Christians will be connected to their local church and begin their discipleship.

One important prayer request... Marnella runs a radio show that David was interviewed on last night. She is very well known in this city and our band will be playing with her band on Friday night. Please pray that her heart and her husbands heart will be opened and she will recieve Jesus this week!

S16

We have had two shows so far and we have seen the Lord move in each of them! Thank you for your prayers.

Our first show, on Friday night, was at a club called Planet Beer.... yeah... It was a very nice club. Large stage, great sound system and great lighting. The first band was a black metal band which means crazy fast drumming and screaming for every song. I hate black metal.

There were about 200 people at the show ages ranging from 14 - 30. When we began to play they reacted with anger. They didn't like the humor that we use in the beginning and when they realized that we were talking about Jesus they began to scream mocking phrases and swear words at us. They began to spit on Rob and throw lit cigarette butts at him. Our drummer said it was the craziest crowed he has seen for No Longer Music.

After the show David invited everyone into a side room to talk. A mass of people followed him and he was able to clearly present the gospel to them. Afterwards many recieved Christ (not sure about the number yet, we usually find out from the church later) and many stayed after to talk to the band about Jesus. We were pleased that the angry crowd became interested in hearing about God.

Last nights show (Saturday 15) we played in a town outside the metropolitan area of Curitiba. It was an outdoor show in the middle of town. There was a car that was circling the town all week promoting the show. There were somewhere between 600 - 1000 people there.

Now, I haven't really explained my role yet. In the third song of the concert set there is a song called No Sex. During that song I put on a superhero suit with a cape and a big red V on the front.... because I am virgin man. David screams, "I believe you should have sex... I believe you show have sex a lot... AFTER MARRIAGE!" And then they sing a song about how Virgin Man saves David from falling into lust. The purpose of the song is to get the crowd into the show while sprinkling a little Christian teaching. My job is to run around in the crowd and act like a superhero. Last night I climbed up the scaffolding on the side of the stage and raised my cape to get the crowd to cheer. Very fun!

Anyway, after the show David called for everyone to meet him next to the stage. A group of about 200 people followed and he was able to present the gospel through a translator to them. He asked anyone who wanted to know Jesus to kneel down with him in front of the crowd. 20 people kneeled there and accepted Christ. After that some people were hanging around and they accepted Christ including two girls that Joy was able to lead to Christ. FANTASTIC!

Thank you for your prayers! Keep praying!

In Brazil, since Monday

Wow! Its been a very busy time here in Brazil. I don`t have much time to type right now but I will write as much as possible. We stayed in Sao Paulo the first night in a hotel and then we took a bus to Curitiba (spelling?) where we will be staying until next week. Curitiba is a town of about 2 million and it is a 7 hour trip from Sao Paulo... south. This is the farthest south I have ever been!

When we arrived in Curitiba we were loaded into vans and I was loaded into a very basic, stripped down VW bus. Luke, our guide, organizer and translator, drove us to the place we are staying. That night (Tuesday night) it was pouring rain and we were driving through major traffic in a downtown area. Lots of stop and go. Luke was following two other vans ... let me just say it was the most crazy car ride I have ever been on. You have really never driven until you drive in Brazil. Its nuts!!! We should have died!! It was great!! Very exciting. LOL! And the rain didn`t help.

Soon we got out of the city and we were taking these corners on wet streets with a rear wheel drive van with bald tires that had no pressure in them. Lots of slippage!

We survived! We are staying at this YWAM camp. It lacks much but its nice to have our own place. Surrounding it are these little worn down houses and a busy street with semi trucks going constantly. However the landscape is beautiful. Very hilly and lots of trees and green.

For breakfast we have bread and tea and for lunch we go to these cheap buffets for like $2.00 a meal. And we have had grocery store food for dinner.

On Wednesday David, Luke, Rob (band member) and I went and met with a women who has a radio show in the area. David will be interviewed on the radio and hopefully get some TV airtime too. Pray that God will work those connections.

We have about 7 or 8 shows to do in Curitiba. Apparently they have been well promoted. In fact, for one show they have a car driving around all day every day with a big billboard on the side and a loud speaker. The radio is playing spots 5 times a day. Some shows could have thousands in attendence. PRAY!!

Well, I need to go now. I am sorry that I have not responded to e-mails. I have been really busy since these past 3 days we have been doing setup and rehearsals and I have not had wireless internet access. But, I think I will have more opportunities as the shows start.

Our first show is tonight!!! Please pray with us that the gospel will be clearly presented and many will come to know Jesus for the first time tonight!

Miss you all and praying for you!

28 Days

Wow, its tough replacing yourself for 28 days. Everyone at church has been so great and supportive. Many have told me that they want me to be able to leave and keep my mind focused on the trip to Brazil and not focus on what is going on back home. But, I just think for my own sake I need to keep in touch. I know - because of my history - that I will forget details and need to work things through.

Its going to be great to update this with the latest news of the tour!