The Last Post Before Outreach

If the title didn't clue you in, this will be my last post before outreach. I won't be bringing my laptop with, so I probably won't be doing any blog updates in the 7 weeks I'm there.

HOWEVER, I have made a Mail Chimp e-mail list, which will allow me to send out mass e-mail updates to specific groups. If you would like to be added to an e-mail update list, send me your e-mail address on Facebook or e-mail me at christopherpaulhickey@yahoo.com (because of some weird Yahoo policy, the first update I send may show up as spam and you'll have to un-spam it or something, according to Mail Chimp's website). The updates will be shorter than my average blog post, and may just be a prayer request, or a short story of something cool I saw or did, or something I recently learned. I'll still have this blog for a bigger update every once and awhile though.

Now that that's out of the way: We leave for Nigeria this Wednesday (tomorrow). As I write this, it is less than 48 hours away. I've paid off all my outreach fees, the visas arrived yesterday, and I'm mostly packed. I am at this point extremely excited and ready to leave ASAP!!!

I spent all yesterday deep cleaning the kitchen (wiping and scrubbing every surface, organizing pots and pans and oils, cleaning after dinner) as one part of our massive "Leave the building looking better than we found it" movement. It was actually pretty fun, even if it was suuuuuuper grimy. The building is looking pretty spick and span, but we're finishing the last few projects today.

It's starting to feel kind of empty around here. Quite a few people who were living here are not going on outreach. Some are going to college, some back home to work for awhile before their next big move in ministry, and some aren't sure what's next. But it seems every day someone else leaves. That's another reason I can't wait to leave for outreach...this unusually quite building is a constant reminder that the lecture phase is over, and people are moving on.

I really don't have a lot of time to add much more, other than some prayer requests. On every outreach team, mine included, we still have some students who don't have all their money yet. Some are still trusting God for thousands of dollars (although not everyone is leaving this Wednesday, some teams don't leave till Saturday). Please pray for God to release those finances for those who are still in need. Prayers of thanksgiving would also be appreciated for our visas finally arriving and for the money that has come in already would be appreciated. And lastly, one of my outreach team members, Glori, is headed back home to Tanzania today with her sister Asifiwe. It was cheaper for them to go home for a few days and then get flights within continent to their respective outreach locations (plus they wanted to see their family again before their next big adventure). Please pray for safe travels for them, and that all the money they need would arrive in time for them to join us on outreach.

Other than that, please just continue to pray that the hand of the Lord would be over our whole team as we travel about a country that none of us know much about, and we prepare to carry the intense responsibility of teaching God's word to hundreds of people! I'm sooooo excited!!!

If I had more time, I'd go on and talk about the last few weeks of the school. However, I will say this: We made it! We read through the whole Bible in 4 months. None of us are experts, obviously, and each teaching left us with more questions about the book than we had beforehand. However, I think that's kind of the point. They wanted to make us into life long learners, and they succeeded. I want to keep studying the Bible and continue to learn all I can from it's pages.

I have learned so much already, but it's just a sliver of what each of the 66 books has to offer. And now I'm ready to go share what I have learned with others, who will in turn share it with others, who will in turn change their nations! That's the beauty of Word.

God's Blessings,

Chris

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: Battle With Us For Our Nigeria Outreach

Hello all! This is not a full update. We just had an outreach team meeting, and I just wanted to share some of what came out of it and ask for prayer regarding our preparation process for outreach.

Basically, we are still applying for our Nigerian visas, and the process has been much, much more complicated and upsetting than it needed to be. There has been a ton of communication error, dropped calls, unclear instructions, that sort of thing.

Also, while none of us have all of our money yet, we have multiple team members who have been seriously struggling financially, and who feel like there is something God is wanting to show them or reveal to them before He releases funds to them, but that they are unable to see clearly what that thing is He is trying to show. They feel like it is being obscured from them somehow, and there's a lot of frustration.

After talking and praying through the situation, we felt as a team that there was a lot of spiritual warfare going on surrounding this outreach. It seems like the enemy is trying really hard to end this outreach before it even begins, because this is a pioneering outreach. No team from our base has ever been to Nigeria. We don't know what to expect, but we do know that when we do go, we'll be laying the groundwork for future BSN teams, either from here or other partner bases of ours.

That scares the enemy a lot, because Nigeria is already in the midst of a huge revival, and in the ten days we're going to be there we have the potential to change THOUSANDS of lives, not just ourselves, but also through the people we will be teaching, who will pass on our Biblical instruction and disciple other new believers, who will in turn disciple others, and so on and so forth.

Basically, we could start another huge wave of Biblical discipleship that goes on for generations.

We're really excited. There's so much potential here. We're running a program that is so influential and useful for changing nations, there's certain countries who have had high up government officials ask YWAM for BELT training for themselves. So the fact that we'll be running the first seminar in Nigeria of many is really exciting, but also a TON of responsibility, and the enemy knows that, and is trying to frustrate us and get us to quit before we make a beachhead in that nation.

So I'm turning to you for prayer. I'm asking that you'll partner with us and pray for a few specific things. Here we go...

- Prayer for finances: All 8 of us in total need about 28,400 dollars for the whole outreach (as well as some that are still paying off lecture fees). Also, many of us have plans immediately following this outreach that will require funds as well, so we'll need those finances now or very soon. On top of that, we'll need to pay for the visas in the next few days, and the plane tickets shortly afterwards. Please pray for that specific amount of 28,400, as well as a more general prayer of future provision for the stuff after the BSN.

- Prayer for confidence: We talked about how we don't have doubts at all that God can and wants to provide for us, but that many of us are for some reason still worrying, which we realized probably has something to do with the enemy sowing seeds of doubt and worry. Many of us have been feeling discouraged and that is not a good place to be in when you're about to pioneer a new ministry. Please pray against any condemning words from the enemy against us, and that God will fill us with confidence and assurance and peace about what we're about to do.

- Prayer for unity: As I've shared before, we are the most diverse team on the school, not only in terms of race and nationality, but of personalities as well. In a high pressure environment, like our outreach will be, it is easy for personalities to clash and for cultural sensibilities to be offended. Please pray against disunity and that we'll be able to love each other, and the people we're teaching, well.

Hopefully I'll be able to put out a bigger update on how classes are going soon. For now I can say we've been going through the Epistles the past few weeks, and it's been REALLY amazing. My theology has been challenged in a lot of ways, and while I haven't made any radical changes, studying the original intent of why Paul wrote Romans or 1 Corinthians has forced me to rethink why I believe what I believe, and if certain verses I've always read as one thing can really mean that, if that makes sense.

Sorry if that's a bit rambling. Like I said, a proper update will hopefully come sometime next week, as my family is coming to visit me this weekend, and the rest of my free time will be going to preparing for a teaching on 2 Peter next Tuesday (the outline is due on this Friday, and yet here I sit writing this update).

Okay, that should be good. Again, prayer for those specific things. Also, for my finances in particular, I have 1500 dollars in my outreach fund here, as well as 500 dollars that was recently pledged to me that should be coming in soon. Praise Jesus! So I will soon have near to half of the 4200 I'll need for outreach.

Thank you so much for reading and praying, and as always, please feel free to contact me on Facebook or e-mail me at christopherpaulhickey@yahoo.com (although I don't check my e-mail very often...Facebook is a MUCH better way to contact me) if you have any questions or encouragements to share.

God's Blessings,

Chris