This Sunday night, was the beginning of a new series, entitled “The Cell Group Series.”

Rod began sharing what God has put on his heart by first asking us a question, “What is a cell group all about?” “Is it just for getting together and hanging out?”

Cell groups are about people invidivually; building relationships; staying strong in love and compassion;

God cares for people so much, and while Jesus was on earth, he ministered to them- not a Church building. He didnt come to save the trees  or pray for the sick puppies; He was moved with compassion for you and I.

” The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has annointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blin, to set the oppressed free. ” Luke 4:18

Towards the second part of the service, George said a few words, referring to Acts 2:42. Many times we think that we are led by the spirit when we discuss our deep theological theories. At times, there may be some truth within them but taking a look at it from another side, it wouldn’t sound so great if someone walked in on an arguement about a context from a certain scripture;

When you honestly open up to people about what Jesus has done for you in your walk with him, others will be challenged by it and want to be like you- it will draw others to the heart of God.

“Cell groups are not for making a strong church. They’re for making strong people, who in turn make a strong church.”-Rod Konkin

We need Jesus. We need each other.

Our God is a faithful God. He never fails on us and his word always stays the same.

Sometimes we as humans, run into situations where we just learn and realize the importance of being able to trust God with our situation; whatever it is.

There are times in life when we go through hardships. At times we put too much on our shoulder. God wants to teach us and show how much he cares. He asks us to give him our problems and not worry about tomorrows day. When we run into certain situations, doubting that he CAN, God reminds us that there is NOTHING impossible for him. It might not be possible for human, but all things are possible in him.

Make that change in your life that you would like to see in others.

God gave us life so we can share it with others. Grasp on his promise and overcome all hardships with faith. Worship the God who is greater than any problem. Many times life is hard because subconteously we can be living a double life. If its on us, it can spread on others.

Remember- God gave you enough so you can bare it and make it! What he starts, he is ALWAYS able to finish.  He knows what he has planned for your life, you just need to stand strong and follow through.

God allows us to see what is ahead of us for a great reason. When we don’t see the future, we have a tendancy of giving up. He has a vision for everyone of us. For example, David was a man after God’s heart and things didn’t happen right away.

Joel 2:28  ”In the last days, God says,    I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,    your young men will see visions,    your old men will dream dreams. “

Don’t quit on God. I believe he is preparing something great for us. He said in his word that you will walk through fires and you will not burn. Lets trust him from the bottom of our hearts and have FAITH to successfully accomplish our vision together as one body of Christ!

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven”

In definition, Thanksgiving is a traditional holiday which is celebrated throughout the entire USA. On this special day of the year, families unite with a feast, giving thanks to the Lord for everything. Of course, God teaches us to give thankful for the good and bad, not only on this day but every day; so for many individuals, it’s a reminder to ALWAYS be thankful to our Lord and Savior.

This special day is also a chance every one of us has to express our gratitude towards our families, friends, and people who are surrounded in our world. Throughout the year, there are so many things and people whom we can be thankful for to God for putting them in our lives. Sometimes, we just don’t realize what we have or appreciate all the blessings that are sent to us.

Psalms 140:1 “Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.”

This verse, from the book of Psalms clearly explains to us what the meaning of Thanksgiving shall be- to give thanks unto HIS name. If you come to God with a thanks-giving heart, he will never leave or forsake you. He will always be by your side. So many times, we receive so much from him but forget to thank him from the bottom of our hearts for all the goodness he has put into our lives.
Let’s learn to be grateful for everyone and everything. No matter what the obstacles are, just take a minute or two and thank Jesus for it all. Often we don’t realize or look into other people’s life, but God has blessed us abundantly with more than we have ever asked for!

Interesting Facts about Thanksgiving:

-The author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” was largely responsible for the establishment of the national Thanksgiving Holiday
-91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving
- The only things that were known to have been served on the first Thanksgiving were deer, different kinds of fowl, flint corn, cod, bass and other types of fish
-Only about HALF of the people on the Mayflower were Pilgrims

Based off of Psalm 92:12, Vlad spoke about the difference of being connected with God, and planted in him.
Sometimes our relationship with God is like charging an iPhone. Sundays we come and get connected, all excited about Jesus, and then Monday we come to school and disconnect ourselves, and our battery immediately starts to go down and we just wait for another moment to quickly re-charge.

We as Christians are supposed to be rooted in Him, like a mighty tree. NOT like an iPhone being charged!

“The way a fish needs the sea, the way a tree needs soil, is the way we need God. He wants us to move in him, live in him, and be planted in him.”

The bible doesn’t only tell us to be rooted like a tree, it tells us what type of tree–a palm tree.

Every tree that’s stripped of its bark will begin to die. Except the palm tree. We as Christians will also be beaten by the world, but we live inside out not outside in.
Since Christ dwells in us we are able to stand strong no matter what.

There will, however, be storms in life that you cant pray out. We’re in bondage during those times. Think about Job..He couldn’t just rebuke the storm and immediately have everything back again. We must learn to bend in our storms, be submissive and flexible under the mighty wing of God. Don’t allow your storms to break you, rather, bend before God and after its over you’ll be right back up.

There are two things that wont let you bend in the storm: Pride and “why” before worship.

Don’t pepper God with accusing questions like “why did you make me like this?” “why am i going through this?” “why is this happening?” don’t put your “WHY” before your worship. Just worship HIM!

Any abuse or trauma you may go through you will get through. Right now you may be holding a knife by the blade. Take whats been cutting you and grab hold of the handle. What killed you before will now be your weapon!

When a rope is left around a tree, it begins to grow into it and become a part of it. Then you see people who’ve backslid-en so far, and when you ask them whats happened they just say “Its part of who i am” because they’ve allowed that bondage to grow into them.

As palm trees we are supposed to break away anything holding us back. When were in the presence of God, we grow. So sometimes it feels like were unable to break off a bondage, but don’t give up! Continue to devote yourself wholeheartedly to Christ, and as you grow in Him it will only be a matter of time before you break out of it.

FRIDAY, OCT 21 | DAY 2 Everyone got up pretty early because of the time difference, and we were all pumped to get going and start serving! Unfortunately, Roman informed us that we would use this day to rest and allow our bodies to adapt. After an amazing time of worshiping out in the beautiful sun, everyone went off and did their own thing, praying, reading the word, prepping sermons… Africa is SO beautiful! The land is pretty versatile, mountains in some areas and plains in others. Near the afternoon it began thundering pretty loudly so we began to expect rain, but instead a small tornado appeared up on the hillside. It felt weird but awesome to sit under the hot sun knowing that the rest of our Washingtonians are getting soaked by the rain When evening rolled around we had the privilege of meeting Per and his wife, missionaries from Sweden! We all went out to dinner in Arusha at a local hotel, and ended the night with packing back up for the next day.

SATURDAY, OCT 22 | DAY 3 This morning was a rush of last minute showers, and packing up. We said our goodbyes to the missionary house and spilt up with our group. Half went to the airport to see off Per and his wife, and the other half headed out on a 3 hour drive to the village of Katesh. The roads in Africa shouldn’t even be called roads. Ditches trekked into a trail is more like it! But you get used to it pretty quick, so we sat back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we prepared for our first African “bush” experience. We arrived to loud praise music blaring out of a brick church with a dirt floor and holes as windows and doors. The choir group greeted us with an awesome African-style dance and then Angela took over and shared the story about the creation of the world. The story turned into a skit as we all participated in one way or another, branching off to the death and resurrection of Christ and his love for us. The gospel message is power, and we saw evidence of that as we led the kids into prayer. God is good! Seeing their faces radiate with joy as they were told that they were created by God, for God was priceless. We took them outside to get to know them a little better handed out candy and a couple soccer balls. They treasure everything so much here! All of the Children are so precious! They smile shyly and shake your hand as if it were such an honor…their eyes are so humble and pure. Its no wonder Christ told us to be like little children. Although they have so little, they rejoice in what they do have, and were blessed just being able to love on them and spend time with them. We had a blast as we gathered them around and played a crazy game of Simon says. Imagine; 300 kids formed into a huge circle in the middle of a grassy field, and each of us taking turns doing random things trying to get them to copy us. It was Hilarious, we all ended up laughing and having a great time. Later on the rest of the group drove up and we headed off to a little hut near the church for lunch. Sitting in the dark, musty, dirt-floored hut we prayed “Lord, Kill them all!” and bit into our rocky rice and mystery meat. (which actually wasn’t as bad as it sounds.) After lunch The adults gathered in the church and Roman shared a message while we got the kids gathered under a tree and sang a couple songs with them. Then Julie pulled out her puppet and, like magic, all eyes were on her. The kids were completely captivated, I don’t think they’ve ever seen a puppet before! After lots of giggling she called me (Nellie) up to read a book about Noah. The book was colorful, so the kids loved it as well. I love the way they don’t need a bunch of fancy supplies or peppy music to grab their attention, they loved the way we told the bible stories through the small, simple things. We finished with another song, hugged everyone goodbye and made our way to the guest house for the night.

SUNDAY, OCT 23 | DAY 4 Its pitch dark. Early morning. Everyone is tucked cozily into their mosquito nets. And a Muslim is singing at the top of his lungs through what sounds to be a megaphone. After a few minutes of torture, I went back to sleep and awakened a couple hours later to the sound of Rod praying loudly in tongues. (Much more comforting) Good morning! Another day in sunny Africa! We made our way over to Williams house for breakfast. William is an anointed worship leader as well as Gotte’s right hand man. After breakfast we headed back to the village. Things were beginning to look a little more familiar from yesterday– But this time the kids and adults were already split up. And the tree the kids were gathered under had a goat hanging on it. Fresh meat. Yum. We casually stepped past the stomach insides and I shared with the kids about the phases our hearts go through; from sinful black to red and covered in the blood, to green and growing in Christ, to white and purified. When I finished Igor took over and laid it down by getting a bunch of the kids involved in a re-creation of the story of Joseph. The kids looked like they were having the time of their lives, and as Igor finished up Olga led them into prayer. The kids were much more comfortable with us today, so their hugs and smiles were a little more bold. Angela pulled out balloons and we immediately had a mob around us. We made crowns with a majority of them, but apparently the kids thought it was more entertaining to pop them against a spiky bush! Lunch time rolled around and we made our way back to the hut to eat the goat mentioned earlier. I wasn’t very hungry, so I didn’t have much, but what I did have tasted like liver, not goat. But anywho, after lunch leaning against the straw hut with kids hugging my side stroking my arms and playing with my hair was just such a precious experience. Even though were thousands of miles from home, Knowing that were exactly where God wants us is the best feeling in the world. Before leaving Roman, Sophia and Gotte got arrayed in traditional African Clothes and the rest of us got blessed with super long orange bars of soap that smell like carrots. Apparently its laundry soap, and I guess that God was trying to show me some kinda sign or something because I got three of them. After many goodbyes, we piled back up into the cars and made our way up the road to Dongobesh. wed Oct 26 day 5 Our team is slowly but surely adapting to the African lifestyle–Sleeping under Mosquito nets, showering out of buckets, and using a hole in the ground as the bathroom. Early morning we walked through the city of Dongobesh, filled with busy people ,little markets, bazaars, and cows pulling carts. The dusty red streets and children running to and fro allowed us to submerge into the real African village experience. We arrived to Gotte and Ulla’s house for our first normal breakfast. (The day before we came to a village to preach and there was a freshly killed goat hanging on the tree that was later served to us…yum. So todays meal was defiantly an upgrade! After breakfast we walked to the bible school where Gotte and Ulla teach, and Roman shared an amazing word followed by worship led by our team. We were blessed by being able to minister to them through songs we interpreted into their own language. Their fire for God is so contagious and re-energized us for the rest of the day as we made our way to a different bible school that just finishing up being built. We painted, scrubbed, sanded, put up gutters and hammered the finishing touches into this anointed place where many lives are going to be transformed. Sweaty and sunburnt, we made our way back to Gotte’s for another delicious dinner and then back to our “hotel”. We are anxiously awaiting for what God has planned for us tomorrow, please keep us in your prayers as we continue to spread the Love of God!!!

Thursday Oct 27 | Day 6 I forgot to mention that the night before a guy blessed Roman with a chicken. (or so we thought) we named him Kuku. Little kuku turned out to be a rooster, and decided to awaken everyone with his beautiful voice at 3 in the morning. The guys got him to quiet down with methods I’d rather not include in this blog due to fear of animal control. A little after 6am most of the team went back to the bible school to finish up the building. Its now ready! Were going to be hosting the grand opening for it this Sunday, It’s so exciting to see so many people so hungry for the word of God! Later in the afternoon we went to a Secondary school (high school) and after Rod shared the gospel we split up the guys and girls and spoke to them. I’m not sure what the guys talked about, they wont tell me, but I’m guessing somewhere along the lines of being a real man. Sophia shared with the girls about keeping your heart pure and the rest of us added a little something in as well. We answered many questions and gave a hug to each of the girls before walking to the directors house for another lunch of rocky rice. In the evening we had our first night of the conference. Their praise and worship is AMAZING! My whole life I’ve dreamed about dancing with the Africans in anointed worship, and at last I was able to! They are all so passionate and on fire, hungry and ready to receive. We came here to encourage them, but they are actually encouraging us. Although our skin color, language, and culture is very different, our God is the same, and all differences are put aside as we unite in giving glory to Christ. In the worlds eyes, they have so little, and are so poor. But they don’t see themselves that way, because they have Christ. Their worship is so pure, because they grab hold of the entire package. Many of us accept Christ but then live our lives with him as a side hobby. But here they depend on him every moment of their lives. These people know what’s up. They know the fullness of joy in salvation, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” is written all over their lifestyle.

Friday Oct 28 | Day 7 The Conference is in full swing, we arrived at the church for service first thing in the am and after Igor preached we had an anointed time of worship. Late morning we made our way to a primary (elementary) school for a graduation. The kids sang and danced to many songs for us in Swahili, all of their voices harmonize so well! It almost sounded like a choir rather then just a school. In closing we decided to sing a few of our American songs to them. So Max whipped out his guitar and we rocked out to a couple worship songs. The sound of the drum beating and their little voices crooning loudly still rings in my ears. We had a lunch of a plof-like rice that was really dry and tasteless, so after drowning it in chili sauce we said our goodbyes and made our way to another school. This was another secondary school. (high school) and we had the group of about 300-400 kids gathered outside. Rod, Roman, Sophia, Igor and Max all shared their hearts and we sang a couple worship songs to them as well then passed out candy. The people here are very open and receiving. It was a great honor to be able to equip the future generation with the word of God. In the afternoon we went back to the Conference for another service, where Roman preached. The conference here is insane. Many of the people travel long distances by foot to get here, so they sleep in the church, on the cement floor. And they have 5 services a day. Now that’s passion. After lunch Roman and Sophia went back to service but the rest of us grabbed some luggage we specifically packed for kids and drove around stopping at random huts. We began with a mud hut that housed a family of 6. Judging by the two crosses near the hut, the family used to have 8. We dressed the kids in clothes and gave out candy and toys. The disbelief on their faces turned to joy as they realized we were here to love on them. After praying with the family, we waved goodbye and made our way to the next hut. We visited about fifteen huts that day, we all wanted to do more but Gotte wasn’t with us and we didn’t want to get lost by going down an unfamiliar road. It was so humbling seeing children dressed in rags taking care of their infant siblings. Faces caked in dirt and snot. Toe nails ground to a stub. Stomachs inflated from malnutrition. Their eyes speak of the difficulties they face. Hardship, Sorrow, and hunger are reflected in their gaze. All it takes is one look into the eyes of a child to recognize that the hardship of life has robbed them of the carefree life we all enjoyed as kids. Although they themselves may be small and skinny, their faces speak of a forced maturity and responsibility.

Saturday Oct 29 | Day 8 This morning was another service-filled day, and the plan was that I was going to share what was on my heart then Igor would preach, but there was a problem finding a second interpreter. So we all headed over to the Bible school to join Roman and Sophia and listen to the pastors meeting held by bishop Thomas from Kenya. After an amazing word, we sped back to Ulla and Gotte’s for lunch then off to another service at the Conference. After that service, we had a quick Fika (coffee) break and us girls made our way back to the bible school for a Women’s seminar. The guys gathered somewhere else and Roman spoke to them, while we had an awesome time sharing our hearts with the girls. Sophia taught about the importance of having a relationship with Christ before anyone or anything else. After she finished blowing the roof off the place we had the girls line up and passed out little goodie bags we had prepared back in the US filled with perfume samples, hand sanitizer, lotion, and just small girly things. The sweet girls were so happy! It was awesome being able to bless them. ☺ after many hugs, we made our way back to Gotte’s only to find that the guys had created a mini Olympics tournament with the street kids. They had them doing pushups, races, and soccer matches. The kids all loved it so much! Many of them herd cows and goats, so if its one thing they’ve got, its speed. Soccer balls here are attacked like none other, but the bushes have insane spikes so they pop within 5 min If your reading this and you think you can come up with a lightweight, preferably deflatable, inexpensive solution to this problem, please feel free! I’m positive that all of Africa would love you ☺ Later on Sophia taught them a couple easy songs like “Jesus loves me” and “He’s got the whole world in his hands” Here in Africa the way they sing is by having someone sing out the words then everyone else repeats, so it wasn’t very difficult to get them to sing the song. After dinner we went back to another service at the conference, where Roman shared his testimony. There was such a pure, gentle anointing in the atmosphere, But we could sense that something was a little off. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy and we saw him attempt to do just that as a drunk man tumbled out into the front in the middle of service and pulled a machete out of his coat and tossed it a couple feet away from Roman. Although it was a little startling, no power of darkness can stand in the presence of God. Many were delivered from demonic attacks, generational curses and much more, all during this amazing conference. We came back to the guesthouse awed by the awesomeness of God. Back at the guesthouse, Angela and I decided to throw a party in our room with all of the snacks we brought along . While getting ready for this trip, most of us thought that we would be starving, but Gotte and Ulla are too good to us! We had a good time of fellowshipping around trail mix ,beef jerky and crackers, when all of a sudden Rod came in with another one of his interesting stories. Apparently, as all of us were chilling at our party, Rod and Igor were chatting in their own room when suddenly a random arm came through the window and began to feel around, almost snatching up a bag of jerky! Rod jumped up and pulled back the curtain just in time to see a man running down the alley…so creepy! The guys all thought this was completely hilarious, but us girls were extra cautious that night as we went through our usual routine of checking for bugs before bed. Another exhausting, fulfilling day in Africa! ☺

So many of us, just live day by day in our busy life schedules, without setting up any goals for our future and too busy to make a difference in someone’s life. Have you ever thought of doing something out of the ordinary, to be remembered by the next generation after ours? A big piece of the future depends on us. Are we willing to sacrifice and live for others throughout our life? So many times, we think of ourselves, live for ourselves, and care about making ourselves happy and comfortable. But, what will make a dramatic difference is changing the life of someone by doing something very simple. Jesus has left us with many amazing gifts and talents that we can lean on and use on others. Before Jesus went up on the cross to build a future for every individual and pay the price for your eternal life, he left us with numerous examples that show us how to a Godly life, that resembles our love and passion for others.

Everyday, he lived for people- to free them from spirits, heal them from their illnesses, and call them into his kingdom. He left us with many examples of how to make a difference, and he wants us to take advantage of it. We might not know, or sometimes not even notice, but on a daily basis, we are surrounded by people who are broken inside out, and just showing them some love will lighten them up and bring happiness into their hearts. Lets not just expect others to do our job, but depend on our own actions; leave positive footsteps behind ourselves and show goodness, love and passion to all.

The words “I want” are not a part of a soldiers vocabulary.
“I want to pray.”
“Today i don’t want to pray”
The words “I want” are poison to the army.

We enlist in the arm but were not even obeying. Were going about our own lives the way that we want to, in disobedience to God.

Were all in the battle, and the way you live will determine the outcome of it–be obedient to Christ and come out in victory, or go by our own way that will lead to confusion and destruction.

There is a reward for conquering your battle. Davids brothers didn’t want the reward enough to be able to leave their comfort zone for the front line. The soldiers life is to battle, and win. But the problems that are going to face you in the battle are just like Goliath; 9 feet tall, heavily armored, spear in hand, etc. And he will challenge you personally.

When you come to the battle, your thoughts and the people around you will most likely be against you. The only thing that will be valid is your experience with God. If you’re depending on others words/ testimonies you’ll lose. Personal relationship with Christ is what arms you for the battle.

David decides to go after the reward and his brother accuses him of coming down just to watch the battle. “I know how conceited you are, and how wicked your heart is” (1 Samuel 17:28) Whenever you begin to go after the reward with all your heart, there will be people getting upset because they’re living a mediocre life. This also works the other way around–when we fall back into the mediocre life, we get jealous of others burning for God because we think its easier to judge a brother instead of going to the battle field. God doesn’t want you to stay a shepherd your whole life. The children of a king cannot be mediocre. Either you go all the way, or you get trampled.

As David prepares for Battle with Goliath, King Saul adorns him in his armor. “David fastened on His sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because i am not used to them.” So he took them off.” (Samuel 17:39) In the same way, we cannot put on others armor. We cant think that we can pull on someone else plan for our lives. Stop trying on others gifts, they don’t fit. God has something else for you.He doesn’t need you to try to be anyone, He needs you to be YOU, and he’ll use the “5 smooth stones.” you’ve got in your hand, allow God to work through your gifts and talents.

In the end, The sword that was supposed to kill David ended up killing Goliath. Turn around and take the problem that’s trying to kill you and kill the devil with it! You’re victory will bring Glory to your father-God!

I’m sure you have heard the word “Goal,” more than you can remember. But in your life, what does a goal really mean to you? Based on the definition of this word, a goal is defined as pointing a mark to an end of an accomplishment. The key factor in this definition is that it points to the place you will end up being at, rather than the place or situation you’re in today. It is exactly something that identifies what YOU are, how YOU will get it, and when YOU will get it.

In life, it is so important to make goals and approach them. Having goals releases the power of a goal-set life. An individual without certain goals, will be applied to unlawful pleasures within lifetime. Once you make small goals that are possible to be accomplished, it is easier to get ahead in life and go beyond!

There are people out there who are in valleys so deep they don’t even know what they’re doing anymore. Sometimes we don’t know what to say or do, but just open up your mouth and begin to speak. When you take that step of faith and begin telling them of whats coming, convicting with love, people will open up to you and ask you what to do. Don’t worry about what to do next, the Holy spirit will lead you with that. Just take that first step of faith.

George also spoke about going through deserts in our spiritual life, Whenever we go through our deserts we constantly think “Jesus, where are you?” “Why are all these things happening?” “Why aren’t you here?” but instead of whining and complaining, check yourself. Do you truly seek Him in those hard times? Were always thankful and happy when everything goes good, but are we as faithful in the difficult times? We are CARRIED by God Himself in those times, whether we feel it or not.

The only reason we haven’t fallen apart in the desert is because were in his arms.

Jesus went into the desert before he began his ministry, and there satan questioned his identity, “If you are the son of God, then….” (Matt 4:1-11) Jesus verified who he was; “I AM the son of God..” before replying with scripture. The devils first attack is on your identity, to make you doubt who you are (the son/daughter of God) Everyday proclaim your identity and thank God for who you are. “Going through the desert is a good thing–when you’re with Jesus, it makes you who you are supposed to be.”

Worshiping the devil is something we would never think about, but if your speaking about your problems more then you are about the power of Jesus, then your worshiping it. Speak, better yet, PROCLAIM who you are in Christ and who the devil aint!!

Whenever you think you wont make it, too many problems, too much going on, Just remind yourself of someone who overcame a lot more, and your problems will become small real quick. Satan will be looking for anything to pull down, but he Ain’t got Nothin’ on Jesus!

“No time to waste, no time to Chill..Jesus is coming back, stop messing with your free will” a