Until The Whole World Hears.

           I love Casting Crowns. If you know me very well at all that should not surprise you. One of the things that I love is the simple fact that they are honest in who they are and live out a life that reflects Christ. So naturally they have had a huge impact in my Christian life. I promise this relates to my ministry in Boise :)
         One of the greatest things that I love about this band is my ability to relate to them and the songs that they put out. Songs about hope, songs about loss, songs about following Christ in the midst of a storm. Every Christian relates to these songs at some point in their life, but time and time again the truth that they represent will infiltrate my life and boost me when I need it. And boy did I need it this week.
          In this video listed below, Mark Hall is talking about his call to ministry and how it began when he first got to the Christian college to pursue what he felt God wanted for his life. Mark talks a bit about how he felt that because He was in God's will, everything would just work out and feel perfect. Let me tell you it is not always that way!  I hope you get time to  watch this!

Mark Hall Testimony
      
          So how does this relate to me? Well first off I suppose I should tell you that I made it safe and sound to Boise! The roads were absolutely perfect on the way up, which I can assure you is very rare for this time of year and I cannot thank everyone enough who prayed for my Dad and I. It was a beautiful and scenic trip and I know that anyone coming up from the LBK this summer is going to really enjoy it! We arrived in Boise and got to spend some time just hanging out and meeting all the partnership church pastors and forming relationships. These pastors are so awesome. The faith that they have that God is really moving in the treasure valley is simply amazing. You see, these pastors aren't over 2000 people like back home, but of churches from 30-200. It is so awesome and humbling to see the desire for the treasure valley to know Christ come from them. Their stories are pretty legit too...one of them happened to be an ex-secret service man who helped protect some of our past presidents. Pretty legit huh?
         So anywho, my Dad flew out the next morning and here I was...alone. I went to church with the Graves' (whom I am staying with) and was in for a real shock. 20 people in a church is not something I am accustomed to. I sat in with the youth and did a bible study with them for Sunday school. There was only two, Toby-age 13, and Shelby-age 11. It was pretty fun but I would covet your prayer requests for Shelby. Shelby's parents are divorced and her mom wants absolutely nothing to do with church, while her father's side of the family is heavily involved in the LDS (Latter Day Saints) church. Shelby will come to our church when she is staying with her mom because Joyce (the woman I am staying with and pastor's wife) will pick her up, but when she is around her Dad she is taken to the LDS church. Pray that God will put the truth on her heart and she will make the decision to follow Christ in spirit and in truth. After Sunday School, we all gathered and had the sermon. Starting this past Sunday, we started doing a simulcast from Southcrest back home! It is not live, but it is pretty awesome to see my friends on the screen when I am across the USA. This is definitely  a bitter-sweet thing. I miss everyone so much! After church I got to go eat with Gail's son Keegan and his family. They have one 7 year old girl named Amber, and TRIPLETS! (Molly, Tara, and Jack).
           It sounds like a pretty good day to everyone who is reading, but to me it was extremely hard. I didn't feel God. I wasn't comfortable. I missed my friends. I was not used to worshiping in this different church atmosphere. I felt lonely. I doubted God's sovereignty. I doubted whether God was there at all. I was frustrated. I considered packing up and going home. I was ashamed of considering packing and going home. I had no idea what I was going to do the next day, or the next, or the next. So you know what I did? I prayed. Did I feel better? Nope. So I napped. After I woke up I felt better and I got to spend some time with a friend from Summit that night.
            Here is the thing, as Christians we tend to put a lot of stock in "feelings". I did not feel like God was there. I felt lonely. I felt abandoned. I felt, I felt, I felt. But feelings do not determine who God is. God is good. God is truth. And God was with me during that day even when I felt like he wasn't. I wish I could tell you that after praying I felt an amazing peace come over me and God said "Don't worry my child I am here." but that wasn't the case, sometimes...but not that day. The peace came gradually when I decided to continue with baby steps and asked God to help me. If you look all throughout the book of Psalms, you will see the psalmist struggling with his own incapacity to understand what God is doing at the time, but you always see praise following the questioning...even when there is no answer. I cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate all the prayers that have been said for me, because I know without a doubt that is what helped sustain me. I woke up the next day and got to spend some quality time praying over the campus and seeking God's direction and guidance, and it was AWESOME. All those fears and worries disappeared yesterday when I just started doing what God has called us all to do, pray. It was so cool walking around Boise State and praying for God to use that campus to bring people to a relationship with his son Jesus Christ. The highlight of my day is when I got to hike the small mountain trail that leads up to a cross that overlooks the entire city of Boise and all the way to the border of Oregon. I plan on doing this as often as possible to take time to be in nature and silence so I can pray for the ministry here  and for whatever else needs prayed for. Here are some pics of the hike. :)

             My goal in this blog is to present what God is doing in my life as I try my best to walk in His will. Like I said in the first blog, I hope to be honest, because I believe too many Christians just pretend like everything is ok and never share their hurts or their struggles so that others can pray for them. Satan does not like Christians. He will do anything in his power that will corrupt or destroy a Christian's ability to produce fruit so I ask once again that you will continue to pray for strength and protection over me and this ministry this semester, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. Until the whole world hears, we are to preach Christ crucified my friends. I pray for the boldness for us to do it and the eyes to see the opportunities.

God bless all of you!
Phillip