Love Is Urgent

G’ Day friends and family,

I’m very excited to share with you all what the Lord has been doing through our team. But first, I would really like to say thank you again to everyone who has so graciously supported me. The Lord is wonderful and I am truly blessed by you all.
My team and I have been about the Lord’s work in Melbourne now for about two weeks. I feel like I have so much to share with you. It has been a very busy time of ministry but worth every moment. We got plugged into the different ministries here right when we arrived and I feel God has been teaching me many things through this outreach phase already.
As I mentioned before I left, we were going to be involved with a soup van ministry that the YWAM base here has been doing for a couple years now. Every Tuesday evening we go to a place called St Kilda. It is a suburb of Melbourne and has many homeless in that area. There are also many prostitutes and addicts. We park our soup van (which serves more than just soup) right on the side of the street and people start to come. We prepare the meal before we leave the base to bring and give away. Those who come are starting to be more and more open as we talk with them. And we have had the opportunity to pray for many. These people have had many try to cram the gospel down their throats before but haven’t been shown through actions who Christ is..this love that humbles itself before them and serves them. What I mean when I say this is that many of them can quote Scripture to you because they’ve heard it preached to them so much before, but what really changes this ministry from other ministries is that we are trying to build relationships with the people who come and really meet them where they are. And slowly, little by little, they are opening up as we continue loving them with more than our words. And that is just one thing that the Lord has been sharing with me and really letting it sink into my heart - this way of love. Like it talks about in 1 Corinthians 13, how we can do all these great things and even have amazing ministries and give all we have to the poor and even deliver up our bodies to death that we may boast, but if we don’t have love, we gain nothing and we are nothing. Love is urgent. And how do we know the way of love? By looking to the love of God displayed for us through Jesus Christ. Like it says in 1 John 4:9 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” There is so much revelation that God has been bringing to me, things I’ve heard for a while but haven’t known. And I am learning to love. Anyway, I just thought I’d share that with you all since it’s been on my heart.
So this soup van ministry has been going very well and as I said before, we have been really investing our lives into these people coming and I believe God is really moving through our conversations and pulling on the hearts that come. There is a ministry that only the girls do that same night called Sparkle. It reaches out to the prostitutes (working girls) in that area. Taking only a few of the girls from our team, they go to another part of the town and give out some sandwiches and bread and visit with the working girls.
I’ve been praying that God really gives me a heart for all the people we are reaching out to. My heart has been heavy. It is hard to walk away from a night like Tuesday and not feel your heart breaking for these people. They need God’s deliverance. They need a love not of this world. We are praying for a break through and believe God is going to continue to do amazing things! The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us! (It is so good to dwell on this.)
The next ministry we have been involved in is called Credo. This ministry provides a free meal every Tuesday – Friday around lunch time for the homeless there in the center of Melbourne. One of the main addictions that people have in Melbourne is heroin. Many also have a problem with gambling. The more I’ve been talking to people, the more I am aware of the many strongholds here. My eyes have been open to the bondage of sin that many are dying in.
Along with the Credo program, we have been busking (playing music) in the city streets. And we have decided to use the money we receive from busking to bless another one of the ministries we are involved in called Stitches. I will explain what Stitches is in a little bit. First, I wanted to tell you all a neat thing that happened the first time I went busking. I prayed before I started to play that God’s presence would be felt through the music and after about the third song, a homeless man was passing by and then stopped and started to listen. He sat on the bench next to where I was standing and just listened. As soon as I finished that song, he got up and limped over to where my guitar case was and reached into his pocket to pull out a coin. I couldn’t believe it. Here was this homeless man who gave out of what little he had to me. And then he began to talk to me. It was very hard to understand him at first. He had long hair and beard and part of his face was beat up which affected the movement of his mouth. He also had a patch over one of his eyes. I stopped playing music and looked at him as he spoke. He told me how much he liked my playing and singing. He said he was a singer himself and gladly demonstrated for me. I smiled and asked him his name. Hugo was one of those homeless guys who actually lived night after night not knowing where he was going to sleep. I was able to tell him about Credo and his face lit up. He hadn’t heard about it before. He asked me where it was and after a bad attempt to give him directions, I finally decided to take him there. So as we walked, we got to talk more and after showing him the place I asked to pray with him. He stopped in mid pace, looked me straight in the eyes and said yes. I believe he was really touched by me praying for him. This may all sound like a very simple event in my life and it was. It was simple, but I God was in it all. And I believe God had that meeting with Hugo planned. I was humbled that day at how God works and that He would choose to use me. He is so good. I pray to see Hugo at Credo sometime in the future.
Stitches. This is a ministry that reaches out to inner city kids. It is a safe place where they can go and have fun and really learn a different lifestyle than what they’ve seen from their parents and others. They really experience love in that place and people who believe they can make it. Since we’ve been here, we’ve had the opportunity to help throw them a Christmas party! It was so much fun. We had a toy shop set up for them so they could go in and pick out a toy. Many of them probably won’t get many gifts (if any) so this was just an awesome way to minister to them. And we got to share the greatest gift with them too, Jesus’ love. We will be involved more with this ministry in the future as well. On Christmas day, we will be going around that same neighborhood knocking on doors and passing out gifts for the children and we will be singing Christmas carols and asking them if we can pray for their families. I am really looking forward to it and seeing what amazing things God will do through it. :)
Along with all of those different ministries, this week we have helped out also at some houses around the neighborhood near the YWAM base. We’ve been blessing others doing things like garden work and lawn care service and random clean up things. (Remember it is summer here. It really doesn’t feel like Christmas when it’s 93 degrees outside.) But anyways, we have been doing a lot of different things to help out the community right where we are too and I have enjoyed it. All in all, it has been an awesome two weeks of seeing the Lord work in and through us!
On the weekends we have been helping run church services and giving small sermons and testimonies and doing different things like dramas and leading worship. I had the opportunity yesterday to give my testimony at a church and also share a message with them. It has been stretching me and God is good. :) I can really see how He has been using us and it is awesome!
Since this outreach, it has also been important for me to spend time alone with God, to be refreshed by Him. Because we are constantly pouring out, we desperately need to be still at times and let Him fill us back up and strengthen us again. And as I said before, I feel like God has been revealing Himself to me in such amazing ways. We serve a great and mighty God.
Thank you for constantly keeping me in your prayers. I will be able to give you all an update soon again. I want to encourage you all to read, if you have time, 1 John 4. And I pray that God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.

Isaac


prayer needs.

+More of a heart full of humility as we serve the people here
+Prayer over all the ministries we are involved in
+More opened hearts and brokenness with the people we meet
+Deliverance from addictions they are enslaved to
+Even more unity within our team as we continue to work with one another
+You can pray for Hugo
+Continue to pray for our safety and health
+This week we are heading into the bush to help clean up the area that has been destroyed by the fires. I’m not sure exactly what we will be doing but if you would, just lift us up in prayer over this week we are away :)

The Lord is so good.

It’s hard to believe I have been over here now for three months. Time is flying by! We have been having some busy weeks of study. Many more gifted speakers have come to disciple us and we have continued our weekly ministry opportunities like Hands, Breakfast Club, and Molio House.

Lately, God has been sharing some amazing things with me. I’ve been reading through the book of John and really asking the Spirit of truth to bring me revelation through the words of Jesus. And He has! I’ve been so overwhelmed by who He is. Jesus speaks life. Some verses that have spoke to me:

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”  John 4:34

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.”  John 5:19-21

I am amazed at how Jesus was always seeking the will of His Father. He even told us to pray not our own will but the Father’s will to be done. I believe the Father had specific works for the Son to do when He came in the flesh.. and Jesus accomplished every one of them all the way to the cross.

Seeing the works done through the Son has made me believe that the same Father today has works for me to do here on earth. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10) It makes me excited to know that He uses us! I feel like there are specific works He has for me to do coming up on outreach. And my prayer is that I will be so in tune with His Spirit, that when He speaks, I will obey. I want to be like Peter and John…who knew who they were and after Christ left them, they became bold and were filled with the Spirit. I want to have the humility that Christ had and His compassion for the broken. 

Right now, we have split our group of fifty students into the five outreach teams. Like I mentioned before, we have three teams going to the Fiji islands. Each year they send teams to the islands to follow up with the people in the villages. Each team has specific things they will be doing on their outreach. Some of the teams will be physically building a church in the village and helping start it. We have another team that will be going to India. And the last team will be going to Australia. This is my team!

We will be going to Melbourne, Australia in a week to do outreach. The place we will be staying at has many ministry opportunities for us. They reach out to the homeless and prostitutes in that part of Australia. We will also be helping out with a meals-on-wheels program that actually is like a traveling soup kitchen. :) Also, we want to throw a Christmas party for the homeless and visit nursing homes and sing Christmas carols with the people there. One of the weeks while we are there, we will be going into the bush and helping rebuild a part that has been destroyed by fires recently. I will have more to say about all of this when I am there. Along with all of this, we will also be going to churches and preaching and leading worship. It will be very challenging for me. I’m glad the Lord is helping me step out of my comfort into the Comforting One. He has big plans for us.

We have spent the last week and a half preparing with our teams. I am leaving for Australia in six days and we will be there for eight weeks. I ask that you all would continue to pray for all of us as we depart and continue the Lord’s work in these different countries. I know He is going to do amazing things. I will have much to tell you all very soon. Thank you for your prayers.

Important:

I know I mentioned in the update before that I was in need financially. Due to airfare fees and other expenses, I am still in need. God has provided so much through you all already, I hate to ask of you again. I know that this is a busy season for you all, but I come to you asking humbly. I am needing to still raise about $1500. This will help to pay for Australia airfare along with a ticket to come back home in February. If there is any possible way for you to help support me, please do. Anything will help. Please respond if the Lord has put it on your heart to give. I would not be here today without your support. I deeply thank the Lord for you all. Your giving has tremendously blessed me. I praise the Father.

If you have any questions and would like to support me, please email me at isaac.godwin22@gmail.com 

Prayer requests:

-       for the five teams as we prepare and learn to work with each other for outreach

-       for the ministry opportunities we will be apart of

-       for the different people we will be sharing Christ with.. softened hearts

-       for safety of all the students and staff over these next months

-       for health while over in these countries

-       for finances

 

Greetings everyone!

So….. it has been a while since I’ve been able to give you all an update on what is happening over here. Busy. Busy. Busy. We never seem to slow down. These last weeks have flown by for me! It’s been very hard to find time outside of our daily schedules to get other things accomplished. This week, it has been my goal to update this blog and share a little bit of what has been going on. And so I proceed.

 

We have been having an amazing time of lecturing and discipleship. We have a new speaker every week and sometimes even up to three different speakers. Every one of them has very good things to share and each week has been different. Some of the topics of the week have been: Prayer/Intercession, Lordship of Christ, World Views… This week has been on Relationships. It has been very challenging for me. I’ve been learning that God works in so many ways! How can we limit our thinking that He does things exactly the same for everyone? His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts! I read somewhere once that our minds are like a soda can and we try to take in God like the ocean. We can only hold so much. He blows my mind. He is so big and so good.

These weeks have been very good for strengthening the body and teaching us how to encourage one another more, in building up the church. We have been growing together with God and it is awesome. This is necessary before we are sent out for our outreach phase. Along with all the lectures, we have different ministry opportunities available for us to be a part of such as: Starfish, a program that works with students (hanging out with them and building friendships); some students have gone each week to a nursing home with patients that have dementia and played music for them and visit; also, there is a day where we serve breakfast each week to some students. The students around here really struggle with depression and suicide so any chance we have to talk to them and show them Love is very encouraging.

I’ve been able to use my gift of music to play at some coffee shop gigs and other venues. I’ve also signed up on a street evangelism team that goes into a town called Hamilton every Friday night to minister. This is the same town we do music at. There is another project I’m involved in called Hands where we minister to people through various works, like painting, yard work, or really anything else by hand. Last week I helped out by painting and I also got to help out at a dairy farm one day. This was quite an experience.

 

I’m really looking forward to the outreach phase coming up! Both Australia and India are possible places for me to go. I still need to pray for God’s direction in this but I know He will use me wherever I go to bring Him glory.

One encouraging thing I wanted to share is that we meet every morning at 7 for prayer. This usually is a time for praying for our families and friends and really addressing the needs of the body. We also have intercession on Wednesdays and Thursdays where we bring up world issues going on and pray over them as a group. It is so awesome when we come together and intercede. Two weeks ago when the tsunami hit, we gathered together to pray. It is so neat living in a community like this where we can easily come together to lift up those in need.

Thank you all again for continuing to pray for me. Your prayers are most needed. I wish I could write more but I will be able to soon again. And if possible, I hope to put up some pictures too.

 

 

Some things you could lift up in prayer for our group:

 

1) finances; so many students still need finances for their outreach phase

2) all the different programs going on throughout the weeks – the times we reach out here in New Zealand

3) for us to continue to press into God; many of us feel exhausted and need strength

 

I would like to say that if God lays it on any of your hearts to continue to support me through finances, please do. Right now, the fees for outreach have increased due to things like airfare. I know God is my Provider and has used many of you to help provide for me. I am so thankful to Him for all of you! You have blessed me immensely.

 

Isaac

If willing to help with financial support, please contact me at isaac.godwin22@gmail.com

Hello friends and family!

I have safely arrived to the great country of New Zealand. Praise God there were no problems with any of the flights. It was a very long exhausting day of travel but worth the wait. I am here now in beautiful Matamata with around forty-eight other students doing this DTS. It is amazing! Including the staff working here, we represent 18 different nations. It has been so awesome to see so many people from all over the world who love the same Lord and have a heart for the lost.

Over the last two days, we have been sharing our life stories with one another. This has helped to quickly pull us together as a church. It has really revealed how broken and weak we are. We have to recognize this before we can let God grow us and build us up as His church. It is quite humbling. But I’ve learned over the last year that God truly uses the broken and humble. Sharing life stories has made us so close to one another in such a short time.

This week, we are going to be learning the character and nature of God. I am very excited to be discipled for these twelve weeks ahead. I know that God is going to do amazing things with this group as we seek Him together. Also, there are many wonderful opportunities coming for us to serve. I will be able to write again soon and let you all know what these include. But for now, I praise God that He has brought us all safely together. It really is a miracle so many students from different nations were able to come and gather at this YWAM base to do this. Thank you all for your prayers!

 

Isaac

 

Some things to pray for:

Brokenness before God

Encouragement within the body  (strengthening His church)

Peace for the students that are struggling being away from home

Departing Soon

Hello everyone!

I wanted to do this blog so I could keep you all updated while I am over in New Zealand. A lot of changes in my life are about to take place. I ask that you all would pray for me. God willing, I will be in New Zealand with YWAM by the 4th of September. You are welcome to check out their site at http://www.pursuitsnz.org/

This is going to be such an amazing time in my life! For the first three months, I am going to be discipled while working alongside churches doing outreach ministry. I am very excited about this! We will be doing all kinds of ministry: street evangelism, door to door, prison ministry, hospital ministries, reaching children, etc. And, of course, I will be able to use my gift with music everywhere I go.. But the part I am looking forward to the most is getting to know God even more as He interrupts my life with better things. This is going to be an amazing time of growth in my life as God stretches me and pulls me away from being comfortable. I look forward to all the new friendships I will be starting and building relationships with people.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. 

His glory,

Isaac

Things to pray for:

Safety of all the students traveling from around the world to do this DTS with YWAM.

The churches we will be working alongside with.

All the people we will be coming in contact with and building new relationships..

Softened hearts, ready to hear

Spiritual growth as we all pursue God in this discipleship training