Rwanda July 12-19 2009
Tuesday December 09th, 2008 12:01 AM
Thank you all for your faithful prayer and support in our recent outreach to Rwanda. It's funny how man may plan his ways but the lord takes him on some interesting detours. The morning of July 12 I made my way up to Vancouver to play drums for a church service and then rushed off to the airport to catch the plane. The itinerary was scheduled to go to Amsterdam and then London and then from london to Nairobi and finally arriving in Kigali Rwanda. When I arrived at the gate in Portland to depart they were asking for volunteers to give up their seat and take the next available flight out. They were offering flight vouchers of a good value to boot. I opted not to take it because my trip was going to be so short to begin with. I was only going to be in Rwanda for 6 days working with Andrew Palau. When i finally boarded the plane i sat next to a very talkative lady who was sharing about her upcoming visit to Spain. I shared with her that in just a month or so i would be going to Italy. After hearing my own words and realizing what a struggle it was to raise any money the rwanda trip i thought I'd maybe try and see if i could still give up my seat for the voucher. Thus making it a little less challenging to get all the money together for the Italy outreach. I approached a flight attendant and she quickly asked if the Starbucks drink in my hand was for her. I said i was more than happy to let her have the rest of it. We both laughed and she asked what she could do. I told her about the offer at the gate and wondered if they still needed volunteers. She said we should go and find out. Coming out of the jet way she asked what i do for a living and i quickly answered I am a musicianary. Her eyes lit up and she said she knew it was something like that. She talked with the gate agent and everything was looking good. The flight attendant even stepped behind me put her hands on my shoulders and began to pray for me. She then shared her daughter was in school at Whitworth studying music and that she wanted to do the same. I thanked her for her help and she said she would be praying. All was arranged and funny enough I arrived in london only an hour later than I would have on my previous itinerary. Upon arriving in London I arranged to meet up with my cousins who live in Harrow. My cousin Lyndon picked me up and we were of to have some tea. After a wonderful afternoon I jumped on the Tube (London Underground)and was off to the airport for the second half of the journey to Rwanda. With my information ready at hand I approached the electronic ticketing machine to get my boarding pass but for some reason the machine was not registering my passport. An agent tried and asked me to approach the desk. At the desk the same problem occurred but they finally found my name. The agent said I had a reservation but not a confirmed seat. She said I needed to talk to a ticketing agent. The que for the ticketing agent was quite long but after 30 minutes or so I finally made it to the front. The agent explained that the travel agent who purchased my tickets didn't call in and confirm the ticket numbers when the airline sent them. I just wanted to know if I was going to be on the flight or not. She said that i could go stand by and that i should just wait until she called me. An hour and a half went by and i knew there was no way I was going to make the flight that was leaving in just 20 minutes. I approached the desk and asked what my options were. She said i could come back and go stand by the next day. So I told her I would. She said I needed to call to let them know before I came however. I said no problem. My cousins were gracious enough to let me stay with them and at 5:45PM the next day I called the airline desk to let them know i was coming. The lady said that if I wasn't there 2 hours before the flight that i couldn't go stand by (a detail she left out the night before). I told her i waited an hour and a half the night before and didn't get on. She said that it didn't really matter because I wasn't getting on the flight this night either. I said ok and was ready to try again the next day. I contacted my travel agent and she sorted it out the next day. I finally had a confirmed ticket number and wednesday night the 15th I was on my way to Kigali via Nairobi. I arrived in Kigali at 2PM on Thursday the 16th. I was picked up and brought to the hotel directly across from the national stadium where the event was to take place. The plan was to do a 2 day festival that would be the pinnacle of weeks of benevolent and gospel work. While exhausted I was excited to see my surroundings and instantly found a way to get into the heart of Kigali. Having read the incredibly researched and written "We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" and watched several good movies and documentaries on the Rwandan genocide I was anxious to see how people were getting on 15 years after the atrocities. Later that night I joined the team for the leadership banquet with government officials and other people of authority but was rushed off to a rehearsal with Rwandan artist Enrik Sifa. Enrik was an orphaned child in the genocide but has a rich story of grace by God saving him and giving him the nation of Rwanda as a platform to communicate the love of Christ through music. The rehearsal seemed to go on forever because of my jet lag and by the time we hi the car i was out like a light. The next morning I was wide awake at 7:00AM ready to face the world. I joined my friends and band mates at 8:30 as we went across the street for a sound check. After a few hours of waiting and checking we were done and ready for lunch. I convinced the guys we should go into town again and pass out flyers for the festival and try and interact with some people. We found a great coffee shop/cafe and talked with countless people about the festival and why we were there. That night there were over 30,000 people at the festival. We were blown away by the response and everything went pretty well. The next day went much like the previous and the festival had more people and a greater response. At one point when i was in london I told the team to start trying to find other drummers in case I didn't make it. Enrik (being well known) was connected to what is probably the best drummer in Rwanda. During the rehearsal (before I came) this guy had a horrible attitude and was demanding a lot of money. When it came through that i was going to make it the guy was livid and thought he should be the one on the stage. After the first festival night, this drummer came up to Enrik and apologized for his attitude and said he obviously wasn't the best and was glad that I had flown in. It's crazy to see how God works in the hearts of unbelievers. This guy was not a christian but could sense something happening in his heart. This was the case for thousands and in all 73,000 people heard the gospel at the festival and over 4,000 surrendered their lives to Christ. Thank you once again for your partnership!

Scotland June 19 2009
Tuesday December 09th, 2008 12:01 AM
Today was the big kahuna! I was so excited to see what the Lord would do in Inverness. It was a fairly leisurely morning. We were told our soundcheck was early in the afternoon so we all just relaxed, read and prayed while waiting for dave to return from his hunting outing. When he returned we headed over to the venue to do our soundcheck. The details that go into a festival like this are astonishing. I was excited to be back on the big stage. Our sound check went very smooth and our ears were dialed in very quickly. We worked through a couple of tunes and headed back to the hotel to write one more. Several weeks before the trip we Dave and I got together and tried to jam out some song ideas. Once we had a few Jim came up to record some guitar. We never even finished the songs let alone the lyrics so we were in a mad dash to get it figured out. We pounded it all out in the room for a few hours and made a frantic run to the venue. We arrived with great excitement and were ushered onto the stage. We got our levels checked and were introduced. Our set went pretty good and there were more people than I thought. So many people have been praying for us, the festival and that the weather would be nice and the Lord granted those prayers. The weather ended up being beautiful. After our set we walked into the crowd and watched the other bands while interacting with some of the people. When it came time for Luis I walked to the front and stood between the barrier and the stage listening intently while monitering some young people. When it came time for decision several girls hands went up. I noticed one of their friends didn’t put her hand up. I called some councillors over to help these other girls out but i wanted to chat with this other girl. I asked her if she was a christian. She said yes and that she had been for 14 years. I asked her how that worked (knowing she couldn’t be much older than 14). She said she was christened when she was born. I asked her do you believe because of that your a Christian? She said yes. I began to explain to her what it meant to be a christian and how that applies to our every day lives. She seemed overwhelmed by the reality that she was in fact not a christian because of the act of one person 14 years prior. I asked if she understood what I was saying and she said yes and that being a follower of Christ is what she wanted. I chatted with her a little more and then invited a councilor to come over and help with her follow up info. I was so excited to see her get it. I headed up to the stage and Luis turned to say hi to me. I shared with him what had just happened and he was so excited he decided to share it in his message the next day. The night was so wondeful. Hillsong London lead everyone in worship to close out the night and I just sang my lungs out in the crowd so grateful for all those the Father had drawn to Christ.

Scotland June 14 2009
Sunday December 07th, 2008 01:01 AM
The next morning we rose to a breakfast and a feud between myself and James about Manchester United and liverpool. All in good fun they kicked me out! LOL. After breakfast Sheryl wanted to know how they could be praying for us. We mentioned work and relationships and they seemed very eager to pray for us. We took some time to pray and they blessed us as we left. The ride up to Forres was absolutely gorgeous. The SAT NAV guided us right along Loch Ness for most of the journey. Funny enough we made a stop to see a castle and Phil Comer, my friend and former worship leader with Luis Palau was there at the same time with his wife and son Matthew. We chated for a while and then were off to Forres. Grant Park was our destination and was it ever gorgeous. It had a beautiful garden and big long rolling hills with imaculately kept grass. It is where they hold some of the Highland games. The bouncy houses and things for the kids were being set up and we sorted out the sound, set and program. Our sound check seemed to be the better part of an eternity. There were some big challenges that couldn’t really be fixed with the equipment and time we had. Dave however was determined to make it sound better. After a painfully long sound check Jim ben and I took a walk up the hill directly behind us to a monument overlooking the Moray Firth. As we made our way back down the festival was in full effect. There seemed to be a 5:1 kid to adult ratio. It was wonderful to see so many come out. Dave shared a short gospel message with the kids and many responded. Things quickly moved to the extreme sports and Andrew with Dave co emceed the event. The Program was running very smoothly with each event building momentum. The gospel was preached every step of the way and people had the chance to respond. Some were there seemingly only to mock but regardless Andrew preached with authority and his testimony was compelling. Ultimately we put their souls in the hands of the Lord. We give the opportunity and leave the results to God. We went on and sang some originals that are songs of hope and meant to question your direction in life from an eternal perspective. Our quick set brought people to the front of the stage and prepared them for the “leap of faith” which was where a BMX guy jumped over 20 or so kids. Andrew shared about faith in Christ and gave a final invitation before the local worship band played. It was a wonderful evening. Dave had the opportunity to share his testimony with a bunch of Jr. Highers so I ran and got some bibles and counseling materials and gave them to him after they prayed. While we absolutely trust the holy spirit to finish the work he started we want to give them the best possible start with resources and counseling. We packed up all our gear after the festival and went to this amazing pub called the Old Mill. We had a blast encouraging one another and sharing what we saw in the festival. We were truly grateful for what the Lord had done. We finished our food and made our way to our host home. Our hosts were wonderful people with a big victorian stone house built in 1909. They were very kind and hospitable.

Scotland June 13 2009
Saturday December 06th, 2008 04:01 PM
And were off! Heading south to Fort William was another gorgeous drive. We went the back way so we ended up seeing where a bunch of the big Whiskey Distilleries are. When we arrived at the venue in Fort William they showed us a green room on the second floor of the hotel. It was very nice with a view that overlooked the park where we were to play. As dinner time came we got some meal passes and were told to redeem them in a pub on the other side of the park. At the counter of this pub I got to talk a little with Donnie and Nick. These guys were asking questions about who we were where we were from and so on. I told them we were a band from the US and that they should come see us play. They conceded they might come. I grabbed a place next to gavin (guitar player in Superhero) and we had a lovely chat about production, ministry and music. Our discussion carried on so long Ben (our bass player) came running in saying “were on in 5” I said “right I’m coming”. I arrived to the stage and soon after we ripped into our short set. Our goal in these events has been to set up Andrew Palau, Jose, Reid or whoever is sharing to have the full attention of the kids. The program in Lochinver started to really work and since it has been very good. After Andrew shared a lady came up to me and shared how impact-full this will prove to be. She told me about the heavy drug use and mischief that the young people find themselves in. Fort William being a vacation destination is beautiful and serene but not a great place for young people because there is not much for them to do so they cause trouble. She also shared that her friend had just committed suicide the night before. These people are in desperate need of hope and as our hosts that evening shared with us, this festival was a HUGE step in bring it!

Scotland June 12 2009
Saturday December 06th, 2008 04:01 PM
Yay we got to sleep in. Ben and I took our time waking up but wafter we did we headed out to find some internet access. We walked up the hill toward the church and on the main road found a nice little place called food for thought. The scones were really nice and the internet was cheap. Jim wandered in and found us and when we were all done we headed to the church for lunch. The ladies were so sweet and made a wonderful meal for us. Dave headed off somewhere and never came back for us so we walked to the grounds where we were going to play that night. Everything was being set up and prepared so we hung out for a while. They had some very strange playground equipment that were not common to us, one of which was a zip tie. I decided to jump on it and give it a whirl. Coming to the end of the line I jumped off because i thought it was going to hit the post but it had a bumper so it threw the swing up and cracked my head. I bled mildly but ended up with a whopper of a bump. I saw a young lad playing football (soccer) so I went over and joined him for an hour or so. We chated about football and all sorts of things. I invited him to come back to the festival later that night and he agreed to come. The festival went very well, all of the events were well done and many young people were engaged in the sports, music and message. Andrew gave a wonderful message of hope and it seemed that many many people responded. We headed to a quiet little place after the festival for a time of thanks, reflection and prayer. Thank you Lord for bringing people to yourself and for using us to do it!

Scotland June 11 2009
Saturday December 06th, 2008 04:01 PM
Jane made us a wonderful breakfast this morning before she rushed off to work. Jim and I had the benefit of lounging around catching up on our interneting. Dave picked us up around 12 and dropped us off with the Superhero guys because He and Ben needed to head back to their host home for lunch. Jim and I joined the superhero guys for lunch at a pub. We had a blast talking music and culture and faith. When it came time to leave I joined the superhero guys on their bus for the long ride to Buckie. We made a couple stops, one at a dam with a beautiful view and the other in Inverness. While in Inverness we stopped at a pub and ran into our sound guy Nick. We new he had another gig since we had the day off but it was the Lord that we ran into him on our pit stop through town. We jumped back on the road and upon arrival in Buckie we met at the local church for a time of fellowship. Corrina was introduced as our host. She is a very lively and spunky lady. She jumped in the car with us and we rode to her house. She was in the middle of a remodeling and her house was very cool and right on the water. We got to see God paint the sky that night in a very cool way. We called it a night and crashed after a cup of tea.

Scotland June 10 2009
Saturday December 06th, 2008 12:00 PM
Once again we woke to an incredible breakfast spread from Hillary. She proved to be a wonderful fun loving host making our stay so enjoyable. We packed up the car around 7:35 and headed in to Mallaig to catch the ferry. The ferry ride was absolutely gorgeous. The guys in Superhero are quickly becoming good friends. We departed the ferry on the Isle of Skye which is a breathtaking island full of glorious views. As we continued our drive to the northern town of Lochinver we spent some time reading Acts 2 and playing trivial pursuit. When we arrived we met our host at the venue and began loading in all of the equipment for the concert. While most of the people went to a meeting giving a rundown of the schedule for the day, I was asked to stay behind and help tune the drums and help with the sound check. When the rest of the guys returned we began soundcheck as a band and started working on one of the new LaddHill songs. Ultimately we made it through and went outside to watch the beginning of the BMX and skate demo. After a nice showing of skill we all headed into the concert venue for a quick LaddHill concert, testimony and message from Jose Zayas. Jose did a great job of making the message quick and simple with some good stories. It seemed like people were connected and that God was working in some of their hearts. After a bit of counseling they brought everyone back outside for the finale of the bike and skate show. The night was a great success. Lochinvers population is 639 and we had around 100 people come out to the festival! We packed up all of our gear and then helped with the sound system so we could quickly go to hang out for a while at the pub. We all headed down to one of the only pubs in town and took over the place playing. We played pool and darts and had a great time. The sun doesn’t set until 12AM so we didn’t realize how late it was when last call was announced and the server started rushing us out. Jim and I were rooming together this night and we were anxious to meet our host. As we arrived were amazed to find this beautiful little cottage up on a hill. We climbed the steps to the door and Jane our host warmly welcomed us by putting on a pot of tea. She was a very sweet lady and we enjoyed chatting with her and playing with her Kieran Terrier named Jo. It was a wonderful fruitful day and the gospel had reached one of the far reaching fishing towns of Scotland. It was time to turn in.

Scotland June 9 2009
Saturday December 06th, 2008 11:00 AM
I was able to get at least 6 hours of sleep . After creeping out of bed at around 9 ish Ben (bass player) and I decided to go for a run. We got out to the bay near our home and began trying to find a beach. Our efforts fell short when a woman on this remote road up on a hill told us we needed to go the other way. On the way back down my shin splints started acting up so I settled for the 3/4 of a mile I was able to get in. I returned to the house, washed up and came down for this wonderful breakfast that our host Hillary had began to prepare for us. A proper British breakfast with eggs tomatoes and bacon, along with yogurt cereal and of coarse a good cup of Earl Grey. We had a wonderful time chatting with her about the community and all of it’s inhabitants. She has truly invested her life here. As she headed off to get her hair done Dave, Jim, Ben and I began to do a rehearsal...sort of. We had no drum set and no amplifiers so we just talked through which songs we were going to do and the arrangements. We then packed up and headed to the high school where the mini festival was to take place. Upon our arrival we greeted many of the workers and coordinators as well as surveyed the land to find out what we were looking at. The room in which we were playing was actually quite nice and the sound system was of great quality which makes our job so much easier. We waited for the other group to soundcheck and then it was our turn. We were able to run through all of the songs once with Dave and then he had to leave to go Emcee the other events. We stayed and ran the tunes a few more times just to try and be solid. After a few go’s we took a break before it all started and had a cup of tea and a time of prayer. It was now time to do what we had come for. The stage surprisingly a means to an end for us. While we do share the gospel what is really great is it gives us a platform in which people respect us and want to talk with us. This opens up tons of opportunities for personal, one on one talks. After we did our set student after student wanted to get an autograph and talk with us. We all were busy conversing with the students, hearing their stories and what their plans for life were. There were two that caught my eye Aaron and Donnie. They were riding their bikes and I noticed one had a Glasgow Rangers football shirt on. I began to chat with him and Dave came to join in the conversation. Were able to share with them that Christ was interested not in them being religious but having a relationship with them. We prayed with them and let them know of Christ’s love for them. So many were touched tonight by the power of the gospel. It is amazing to see how the Lord saw fit for us to overcome obstacle after obstacle just so we could share the gospel in a little fishing town like Mallaig so that people like Aaron and Donnie can hear the gospel. We must keep praying for more opportunities for us to tell people of the hope we have in Christ. After packing up all the stuff we headed across the street to the pastors house where we feasted and laughed and had a wonderful time of reflection.

Scotland June 7 & 8 2009
Saturday December 06th, 2008 11:00 AM
Up at the crack of Dawn I only achieved 3 hrs of sleep after going to a friends birthday party and then going over to another friends house for bonfire. I was fully packed for the trip and rushed of to do the worship at Vancouver First church Of God. As I arrived I was told we would be doing worship before AND after the message. I was a little concerned considering I needed to be at the airport by 10:45 to make the check in cut off. I didn’t say anything and just prayed I would make it. Of course the service went a little long and I was left with little to no time to make it to the airport. I dashed out of there at 10:42 and made it to the airport by 10:57. I parked the car in short term so my sister could pick it up and then proceeded to the check in counter. Knowing that Delta had recently bought NWA I went to the Delta counter and was told I needed to go to NWA which was on the other side of the airport. I rushed down there and approached the counter only to have the clerk tell me I was to late and they couldn’t check me in. I said “sir i checked in online last night and already have my boarding pass” he said “I’m sorry we can’t check your bags because it is less than an hour before the departure". I pleaded with him and he decided to go talk to another lady. She mumbled something to him and when he came back he said. “I guess we can go ahead and check your bags in, but only because you already checked in”. I was grateful and made my way to the security line. As Dave (our worship/band leader) and his son Noah and I approached the line Dave realized they had printed Noah’s ticket under our guitar player Jim’s name. At this point we had 20 minutes to get through security before they closed the flight. I stayed with Noah and Dave ran back to get the new ticket. When he got back the line had grown and we were doubting whether we would make it through the line or not. Just as our time was running out we walked through the metal detectors and made a mad dash to the gate. We made it. We were so happy to finally be on the plane and ready to go. Once on the plane we were able to relax and finally settle in for the 14 hour journey to Edinburgh. I was able to get some sleep catch up on reading and chat with other members of our team. When we arrived in the Edinburgh airport we followed the line to the customs/immigration port of entry, filled out our forms and made our way to the desk. I approached the desk and was asked what are you doing here. I said were doing some music in several cities around Scotland. She said are you on tour? I said kind of but were not here working we are volunteering with local churches and are not being paid. She said is it a band, I said yes but not a for profit band it’s a ministry team. She said you need a sponsor to be coming and doing this. I said we need a sponsor to come and hang out with churches and do music for free? She said I need you to sit over here. As I sat down the rest of the band was instructed to do the same and Mike (Reid’s development director) was thrown in the mix with us as well. All of the others made it through but we were flagged because the rules had changed in the past few months with regard to music and who could come in the country and how. We were instructed to go get our baggage and come back to the desk and wait. We did so and waited for an hour while immigration tried to contact the coordinator for our trip (our “local sponsor”). We sat there for nearly 2 hours as people from immigrations came and went giving us little bits of info but only enough to realy start leaving us with doubt that we would see the outside of the airport. I began to remember how the lord had provided the money for the trip, the people (our bass player was asked and joined 9 days prior), the favor with the airlines and ticketing and I could not believe that they were going to send us home. One of the areas God has been growing in my life is prayer and I began to fervently plea to the Lord that he would move on their hearts and minds to allow us through and give us favor. We were called to grab our bags and follow them in to an interrogation area with closed circuit cameras and search rooms. We gave over our bags and they were all marked and the contents were searched and recorded. We were asked to go and sit on these benches and after a few minutes and gentleman came to the door of one of the search rooms, pulled out a white rubber glove snapped it on and said “James Robert Haley”. I thought to myself oh no, this is it, Jim (our guitar player) is going to hate me for life. Jim disappeared into the room and was searched. He reappeared and seemingly no worse than when he had entered. As they called us each to enter we all realized that this wasn’t an evasive search but just a quick check and that the people were actually very friendly. They locked us in a holding room and began to call each of us one at a time to interview us on why we were here. I volunteered to go first. The lady took me to a separate room and began to ask me the same questions over and over. I tried with each attempt to convey to her that we were there to partner with and serve the local churches in their endeavors and that we would be playing in mini festivals sharing our music FOR FREE! She just didn’t seem to believe me but as each person shared the same, and as they contacted our in country coordinator she began to see what we were saying was the truth and that there was no need for an “official invitation” to be in the country. After over 4 hours of waiting, interviews and searches the lady came out with passports in hand and said enjoy your time in Scotland. We were overwhelmed with joy and just began to thank God for his miracle working power and grace toward us. We exited the airport and headed to our rental van. When we arrived in the rental area we approached the desk sorted out the vehicle and headed out to load it up. As we approached the vehicle we found it to be a station wagon which in no possible way would hold five of us and our equipment. We tried loading it every which way and there was just no way it would fit. I re-approached the desk and communicated the problem to the clerk and she said “I’m sorry but that’s all we have”. I asked if there were any minivans or ANYTHING bigger to fit us and the clerk next to her said “didn’t that other vehicle just come back"? He said we can check that one out. He took me out to the mini van/wagon and it seemed to be just right. The guys brought all of our things to load up and it all barely fit in. We were on our way.....but wait where is Mike? Somehow in the interrogation process mike had been cleared to leave but when he left the immigration area he didn’t connect with the rest of the team. We searched the entire airport and couldn’t find him anywhere. Brett and Reid said that mike mentioned to them that if they ever got separated he would find a way to get to Mallaig. We decided that we had better just trust that he could make it on his own. And so we began our journey. We drove for 4 hours on one of the most spectacular routes of beauty I have ever seen in my life. The rolling hills, vegetation, sky, lakes, animals, castles and so much more were absolutely breathtaking. Half way through our journey we stopped at this tiny little village called Dalwhinnie. We ate at the only restaurant in town and they not only had great food but also had wireless internet. When we finally arrived in Mallaig we were completely beside ourselves with the beauty of this little fishing community off the Atlantic Ocean. We met the local pastor and our wonderful host Hillary. She brought us to her beautiful home gave us the most amazing spread before we crashed for the night.

Scotland 2009
Friday December 05th, 2008 02:01 AM
GME has been invited to join in the Highlands outreach with Luis Palau coming up in June this year. We will be doing a mini tour of mini festivals and then will join Luis in Inverness for the main festival. Here is the itinerary for our new band called LaddHill. June 7 (fly out of portland) - June 8 (arrive in edinburgh and drive to Mallaig) - June 9 Mallaig Mini Festival with Reid Saunders - June 10 Lochinver mini Festival with Jose Zayas - June 11 (drive to Buckie) - June 12 Buckie Mini Festival with Andrew Palau - June 12 Fort William Mini Festival with Andrew Palau - June 15-18 (to be determined. possibilities include affinity events in the Inverness area as well as going to Glasgow to work with a new church) - June 19 - 20 Luis Palau Highlands Festival in Inverness - June 21 (return to Portland) Please be praying for us as we still have nearly $5000 to raise in order to do this outreach. LaddHill was recently formed to greater open opportunities for GME in Europe. As a band there are more ways of getting into culture media and such to greater spread the gospel and impact lives. More about Laddhill later......

Romania 2008 Final Report
Friday December 07th, 2007 03:00 AM
Well i can't say strongly enough how wonderful our time in Romania has been. The local church in each of the 3 cities did a fabulous job planning, organizing, and inviting people to all of the events we did. All in all we saw 1683 people come out to the events and 500 people made first time decisions to follow Christ. It has been amazing to see a country steeped in "Orthodoxy" be awakened to the good news of the gospel. So many people thought that they were christians because they were born in a "Christian nation" but they realized through Reid's preaching and the Holy Spirit's awakening that they were actually dead spiritually. The church is already putting on the Next Step meetings where the people that made decisions begin growing in their new found relationship with Christ. Please join with me in prayer for the new believers in Romania.

Targoviste, Romania 2008
Friday December 07th, 2007 04:00 AM
I don't think our time here in Romania could have ended any better than it has. Targoviste has been a home run. We crammed 3 events into one day. We did a ladies coffee, a youth pizza and a couples dinner. The ladies coffee had 70 women, the youth pizza blew us away with 135 students but the couples dinner was over the top with around 170. I haven't received the total number of decisions but will give that in the next day or so in my summary. All in all the church in Targoviste was blessed and increased in numbers. All glory to God. Please pray for us as we return home tomorrow. ALSO check out some of the pictures from our time here in Romania in the gallery section under media.

Ramnicu Valcea, Romania 2008
Friday December 07th, 2007 01:01 AM
What an exciting few days it has been. Our time in Pitesti was incredible. We saw an astonishing 938 people come out to the 8 events and 240 people made 1st time decisions for Christ. We just finished our two days here in Ramnicu Valcea and are excited to see what the Lord has done. Our time has been fruitful in this beautiful city and the music has been a huge part of the success with these events. Every event people are blow away by the musicianship and skill level and are even more impressed with the passion that we have to do this for the glory of God. There have been many seeds planted deeply here and we will anxiously await to see the Lord water and grow the diverse crowds that have come to the events. We are off early tomorrow morning to our last city Targoviste where we will do three events tomorrow. please be praying for us and the people that will be coming to these events.

Pitesti, Romania 2008
Thursday December 06th, 2007 09:00 PM
I can't believe it has been over 6 months since our last overseas outreach but here we are again, taking the message of the gospel around the world. This month we are partnering with Reid Sunders and Luis Palau Europe to share the good news with the people of southwest Romania. Our first stop on the tour is a city of 300,000 people called Pitesti. Pitesti is known for several interesting things. First it's the home of Dacia cars, the Romanian car company which has kept Romanians on the road through some of the worst driving conditions in europe. Second it was the home of the "student re-education program" from 1949-1952. Political prisoners were brainwashed, made to "confess their anti-state sediments" were tortured and then forced to do the same to other prisoners. 30 were killed and hundreds were brought to an inch of their life. Despite the challenges Romanians are still facing from the remnant of Ceausescu, there is hope. There is an excitement in the air. As we met last night with the leaders of the outreach they stated how many people who would not go to church with them are willing to come to these small affinity events. Please be praying as we prepare to share the gospel through music and teaching. Dennis Miclau of Portland Foursquare is with me to play keyboard and sing and is also fluent in Romanian. So we are excited to see how the Lord will use us. I just got word from Reid that over 100 kids gave their hearts to Christ at an event this morning so lets keep praying for more!

Tokyo, Japan 07
Friday November 03rd, 2006 04:01 AM
Let me first say thank you to all of you who so generously contributed and partnered with us in this outreach. The trip was a complete success! Our goal was to listen to the heart of the missionaries who are over there doing the work day in and day out and to be a resource to them. John LaDue, who has been in Japan for over 25 years was such a blessing to us and so refreshing to be around. He has an incredible understanding of the culture and people in Japan and is a blast to work with. Hiro (a close friend of John's) is an incredible artist and the owner of Cafe Decision. Japan is a very hard place to share the gospel and mass evangelism is almost non existent. One on one evangelism is the most effective way to reach people. Japanese people are very introverted and it takes years for them to give you their trust. They are very polite and will listen to you but are very slow to believe. Thankfully we trust the Lord to do the work in the heart so we can leave the convincing up to Him. We just do our best to build relationships and show people the gospel as well as tell them. While our main goal was to be an encouragement to the missionaries and churches we got the chance to share the gospel as well. Adam Smouse (www.myspace.com/adamsmouse) and I did a special night of acoustic music in Hiro's cafe. The response was fantastic. Hiro's father who is not a christian came to me afterwards and through a translater said he was honored to meet me and was moved by the music. hiro later said that he rarely comes to any of the events at the cafe and that it was another healthy dose of watering of the seeds of his fathers heart. Hiro told us the next day about an older couple who came in for lunch. They had come in several times before and got in a discussions with him about religion. Hiro said that he was a christian. They scolded him for following a western religion. Hiro said christianity is not western religion it was founded in the middle east and besides. It has nothing to do with following western culture it has to do with following Jesus. Because they lived so close to the cafe Hiro demonstrated his faith by helping them out on many occasions. He had helped them when they were sick and one time even helped them move their entire office. On this day in peticular they brought up the subject of religion and told Hiro that they had seen Jesus in his life and that they wanted to believe in jesus too. This is the way it happens in japan. People move very slow but generally when they do it's for keeps! We also had the opportunity to lead worship in a bible study, do a special in a church and do some tunes for a home group. but the most important thing that happened was the relationship that was established between GME and John and the encouragement that they recieved by our coming. We feel as though we now have life long friends and partners in ministry. We look forward to seeing how the lord joins us together in the near future to reach the people of Tokyo.

Japan 07
Wednesday November 01st, 2006 02:01 PM
In just 3 weeks GME will be bringing Adam Smouse and Jeramy Burchett to the land of the rising sun. Two years ago jeramy went over to meet with some YWAM missionaries and through the meetings the Lord has opened up opportunities to go over and do music in a cafe. We are praying that other doors and opportunities will open up in the future and are planning to meet with several poeple to talk about future partnerships. We fly out December 4th and will be gone untill the 11th. Please pray for us. We still have about $2000 left to raise but believe the lord will provide. Thanks to those of you who have already contibuted and are praying.

Chennai India 2007
Saturday December 02nd, 2006 10:00 PM
The next few days were filled with ups and downs. As we made it to the grounds each night we were desperately hoping more people would make their way to the festival. The last night of our festival our hopes were realized. We had 1500 people packed into our festival grounds and hundreds more standing on the street watching and listening intently. The local worship band that was playing for the festival sounded like they never have before. In particular the Tabla player blew me away. As he played I was astonished by his talent and even more by the Joy he had in his heart. During the thank you ceremonies I joined the Indian band for some musical improvisation. People absolutely loved it and enjoyed the intercultural play. Brad preached a clear presentation of the gospel and we played once again the song rescue in Tamil. Hundreds of people came forward to receive Christ. We looked back at the night on the way home and saw how the Lord was sovereign in doing his work of drawing people to himself and giving them hope through his son. Once again people have heard the gospel and have been impacted by the power of God through music evangelism!

Chennai india 2007
Saturday December 02nd, 2006 11:00 AM
GME is back in the field. After our successful outreach to Poland we have embarked on another timely mission to India. I was not anticipating being able to go but due to a 15 day break in my schedule with the Dirt Poor Robins I was able to squeeze this mission in. In a pre trip meeting two weeks before we left I found that my friend Andrew Palau (son of Luis Palau) needed a worship leader due to some people backing out at the last minute. I was happy to let him know that I had him covered. My good friend and teammate to India last year Adam Smouse was able to step up to the plate for the mission. FAST FORWARD>>>>>> Early Monday morning on the 5th of February Adam and I made our way to the airport. After 4 legs, 3 layovers, and 36 hours of traveling we arrived in Chennai. Our first day consisted of catching up to the time zone and in the evening going out to dedicate the grounds that we would be having the festivals on. The next morning (02/08) I woke up early to meet our team to go a school. As I arrived in the lobby of the hotel to depart, I found some of our musicians didn’t have the necessary chords and such to make happen what we needed. I immediately made a call to my friend Sudha and he was able to come and meet the guys to help them get what they needed. The rest of us left to go to the school. An old friend named Christian joined us and was able to really help us with the kids. He is really good with primary (grade school level) children. As we arrived at the school the head master was excited to have us and welcomed us. We set up and did a short program which consisted of 3 songs (with motions) and a short bible story with acting. I played some percussion and the rest of the team played their instruments or helped act. It was a successes and the kids loved it and responded to the gospel. We then headed over to a women conference where our worship leader (Jeremy Thom) and his wife sang a few numbers for the women in attendance. We then made the 1 hour trek back to the hotel to pick up the guys and work on translating some songs into Tamil. The Jeremy and his wife Christine were able to work with a local named Wesley to translate one song for the invitation called Rescue. Amped with a new song translated we made our way to the festival grounds for the evening outreach. On arrival I had flashbacks of all the festivals I had done in the past overseas and knew that we had some challenging work ahead of with regards to sound. I immediately set up the drums and tried to talk to the sould guys but once again got the bobble head response with nothing changed. I then just sat back and let it be how it was going to be. We barely got a bass signal and the electric guitar wasn’t even audibly present. The acoustic and vocals ended up fine which was good. We jumped into the first few songs and as I expected (singing in English) people didn’t really respond. Brad gave his message based out of Matthew 11 and when the response time came our opportunity came. Christine was planning to just sing the song in English but I encouraged her to give the tamil a shot. She did and people came up later saying they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. People were hearing these words: “you are the source of light I can’t be left behind no one else will do I will take hold of you Cause I need you Jesus To come to my rescue Where else can I go There’s no other name by which I am saved capture me with grace and I will follow you” People came forward to receive Christ and we left to make the 2 hour ride back to the hotel with joy in our hearts!

POLAND
Thursday November 03rd, 2005 03:01 AM
Jeen-dobre! That's hello in Polish. I just got back from a fantastic trip that resulted in 169 first time decisions for Christ! Wroclaw is a city of 180,000 people in which there are only 2000 evangelical believers. We worked with 9 churches in the city to put on about a dozen different events targeting a specific group of people for each event. We put on dinners for business people, teachers, parents of teens, and women. We went to 2 schools, a university, and also did a seperate youth event. At each event we saw large numbers of people giving their hearts to the Lord primarily because the local Christians were faithful to invite their friends and colleagues. At least half of the people at each event were non-believing visitors who were brought by a friend! In the smallest event we did, we went to a little town an hour outside of Wroclaw where we partnered with a brand new church plant of only 6 people to put on a dinner event in a local restaurant. Those 6 people invited 15 of their friends and 7 of them received Christ. Their church doubled in a day! Personally, I had the opportunity to do some things I have never done on a missions trip. During the sit down dinner events I blew the dust off my jazz chops and played while people came in and while they ate. The idea was to create a classy and "non-churchy" environment where visitors would feel comfortable. After the dinner there was usually a short testimony, then a message that included the gospel and an opportunity to respond by filling out a survey card that included several places to mark if they prayed to receive Christ, would like more information, or were interested in a "next step" meeting where Christianity would be explained in greater depth. Practically every visitor checked at least one of these boxes. For the school and youth events I was drafted to participate in a drama which was also a new experience for me. I got to play Satan! Over the course of the week I got thrown into the pit by Jesus so many times my elbow has a giant scab on it! I also got to share my testimony on several occasions. This type of evangelism has proven to be very effective in Eastern Europe where large outdoor festival type of events are not well received. In Poland, non-Catholic churches are viewed as sects and are looked upon with great suspicion much like we would view a cult in the U.S. Much of what we did was intentional to break that stereotype. In the coming year we hope to do a series of similar "affinity" events in Romania as well as other cities throughout Poland. Coming up at the beginning of January I'll be going to Chennai, India to do training in conjunction with a 12 city evangelistic festival taking place in February. As some of you know, I love India. I love the people, the sights, the smells, the intensity, (the Bollywood videos!), and am excited for the opportunity to go back. Please pray... ~ For the new believers in Wroclaw! ~ For continued fruit as the Polish church follows up with those who made various decisions. ~ For annointing and effectiveness in serving the church as I travel to Chennai (Jan 4-15). Thank you for your prayers and your support. Blessings! Mike Thorley

Soroti Uganda 06 Summary
Monday October 31st, 2005 01:01 AM
Soroti Uganda has seen and experienced the power of God. This past outreach has been one of the most challenging for me in several ways. Knowing the struggle that i would have seeing so much poverty and famine and physical suffering, I thought that maybe closing myself up emotionaly might help protect me from the heartache i was about to see. I thought i might be able to help my team work through what they were dealing with emotionally. By God's grace I made it through but found this to be a foolish method. While in the trenches my team did and amazing job of communicating the gospel through music testomonies and even preaching. All of this hard work, long days, bad to little food, no luggage, few showers (because of water outages) and little electricity took a toll on us. The crazy thing is.......this is why we do this! We have the priveledge of seeing and feeling their every day life on a miniscule level. The more we see this pain and suffering the more we have compassion and desire to attend to them physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly spiritually. When I got back home from the mission I felt as though i had cob-webs in my head and couldn't FEEL anything. On the sunday after arriving home, I was back at my home church and the Holy Spirit used my pastors message to release all of the emotions that I was trying to suppress while I was in Africa. The thing the Lord said to me during that time was "you gave them the best thing you possibly could have given them, hope of a life spent with me". Because we partnered with a medical team (Open Arms International) that ministered to nearly 2000 people's medical needs, I knew we did our part physically. So the Lord reminded me that we give people the eternal hope and he does the work in their hearts and walks with them through the suffering. We also got to show the people how much we valued them by singing songs in their language, Atesso. By making the effort to learn songs in their language this blessed their hearts and won them over. More than 16,000 people heard the gospel through all of the teams that we partnered with and hundreds if not thousands will thank you for your prayers and financial help in sending us to share with them the hope we have in Christ. Thank you all for your parntership and may God recieve the Glory! Jeramy Burchett (Drummer/President)


Friday December 09th, 2005 06:01 PM



Friday December 09th, 2005 06:01 PM



Friday December 09th, 2005 06:01 PM


Soroti, Uganda (entry 4)
Friday December 09th, 2005 06:01 PM
Music is truly the universal language. Seven days ago I arrived in Uganda and immediately was faced with the undeniably truth that I was different than most everyone around me in one obvious aspect: the color of my skin. I simply looked different. And as the band and I climbed the steps of our six foot stage on the first day of the festival here in Soroti, that difference was compounded one hundred times in my mind. Looking out over a sea of dark skinned faces made me reflect on how different we were in so many other ways from these people we had traveled so far to lead in worship and hopefully help in leading to Christ. However, as soon as we started to play and sing, those differences that had been so obvious moments before, began to fade from my mind in the light of one medium: music. I sang a song entitled “Rescue”, but instead of singing it in English, like I’m so used to, I sang it in Ateso… a language completely unfamiliar to my mind and my lips. The song talked of how Christ is the source of all that is, of life, and how desperately we need him to rescue us from utter hopelessness. Instantly you could see smiles appearing on peoples faces, clapping and cheers began floating up to the stage from excited people, and I could tell that the people were not only understanding my words, but engaging! It was an exhilarating feeling! As the week went on, we translated more choruses into Ateso, and day by day the crowd began worshipping with us more and more. Songs were sung, prayers were prayed, people were healed, and hearts were devoted to Jesus Christ! What a privilege to be in a country so different, surrounded by a people and culture so unfamiliar, but still being able to bridge the gap and touch people’s lives using something so simple as a song. Adam Smouse/Worship Leader

Uganda 06 (entry 3)
Friday December 09th, 2005 06:01 PM
I’m not one for being melodramatic or emotional by any means. I prefer to go through life without wearing my heart on my sleeve, processing situations internally and not burdening people with sob stories or selfish emotions. That being said, being half-way around the world in the midst of so much suffering and need, being away from my family, and seeing God in such a new way, has a way of bringing out that side of me that I usually pass off as weak and unnecessary. I spent my first few days in Africa like I was flipping through the pages of a National Geographic magazine. My handicapped American mind was not able to comprehend that I was in a real place, with real people, and I hate myself for that. It wasn’t until we arrived at the refugee camp (the largest remaining camp in the area; mainly driven away from their homes by the Lord’s Resistance Army) that I decided something needed to change. I said a simple prayer, “God, please show me what compassion is.” I went on with my day, and waited for God’s response. And he did respond. The next day my heart was broken. I have prayed for many people here, but there are two particular people through whom God showed me what compassion can be. The first was a young man named Alex. Alex was in flight school, learning to be an engineer. He shared with me that both his father and older brother had died recently, leaving him to be the head of his household. He must provide for his family while trying to complete a degree that costs a lot of money. As I was praying for him, I felt the weight of his burden, and it was too much for me. The second was what I will always remember as “the baby.” I have seen many pictures of starving children in magazines, and in relief agency advertisements. But I was not prepared to engage with this in reality. There was a mother at the festival who had brought her baby to the alter for prayer. I’m not even sure what was wrong with the baby. I don’t need to go into details, but for lack of a better phrase, she was skin and bones. But she had the face of an angel. She appeared very weak, and would lift her head to look around, and then rest on her mother - the same way my daughter rests on my shoulder when she’s tired. You could see her heart beating in the soft-spot on her head. I held her tiny hand, with her frail arm outstretched. She stared at me as long as she could keep her head up, and she looked deep into my eyes. I’ll never forget her. I prayed a weak prayer. I wish I could have breathed life into her. I didn’t want to leave her, because I’m not sure if she would live another day. Her mother, desperate for a touch from God, continued to bring her back to the alter at the festival. I got to see her again from a distance, but her days are numbered. Through my tears and confusion, I realized that God was teaching me compassion. I told Him, “that’s enough, God, I get it!” So, what now? That was (and still is) the big question. Is it enough for me to cry, and feel sorry for the baby and the mother? Is it enough for me to pray for her and hope that she is healed and can live to run and jump and play and dance? No, that is not what compassion is. Compassion is more than our feelings. It is more than desiring what we call “a better life” for someone in need. It is knowing that God loves that baby more than her mother, and has a perfect life planned for her. It is trusting what we can’t understand. Even if her life is only 6 months long, God will use her for his glory. I comforts me a little bit to know that maybe one of these days, maybe even as I am typing this, she may soon be smiling in the arms of Jesus. Jim Haley/Guitar

Soroti Uganda 06 (entry 2)
Friday December 09th, 2005 04:00 PM
Today was the first day I got really tired. We went to a village to give away about 400 hoes, which we later decided to call AI’s (Agricultural Implements) It was at the village that Jim and I regretted our 5:00 a.m. hike to “pride rock” to watch the sunrise. It was a nice view though. I’m starting to realize that African programs take a long time. Our cultures are so different. In Africa, anybody even remotely important get to speak at an event. I love how polite and respectful the people are, but programs take for-eeeee-ver. I did some of my worst bass playing all week this afternoon at the nursing school. I was very blessed by them none-the-less. They were some of the most joyful Christians I have ever met. They will make very good nurses and doctors some day. Its very interesting to think of people learning about things like nursing and flying here, because they have so little to work with, but they are so resilient. I wonder what Uganda will be like in 10 years. More and more people keep showing up to the rallies at night. It seems like we are making a big impact in the kingdom and in Soroti. I’m starting to wonder if the whole city will break out in revival by Sunday night. One of the pastors put it best. He said something like, “My goal for Soroti Festival is that Heaven would come down and touch earth.” -Jon Krout/Bass Player

Soroti Uganda 06 (entry 1)
Friday December 09th, 2005 01:00 PM
The journals for this mission will be done by several musicians from GME so keep posted. We have very limited acces to the internet but will do our best to keep you informed. Today was the longest day of my life! It all began with an early rise at 3:30AM with the trip to the airport. Upon arrival I was pleased to find out that I was upgraded to first class through Elite status. I got to the plane and sat in my seat. Adam was in coach but in the seat right behind me to the right. When we landed in Houston I was shocked at how fast the 4 and ½ hour flight went by. It seemed like 15 minutes because I fell asleep and slept hard. We made our way to the next gate and fortunately Adam was upgraded as well. We sat next to each other and had a wonderful conversation about our love and passion for the whole of God’s Word and how frustrating it is when we hear people stating dogma with only half the truth of scripture. After descending from our soapbox @ 35,000 feet we disembarked the plane and wondered around Dulles airport. We found a cool jewelry stand a CD store and a restaurant. After dinner we went to the gate for our flight to London on Virgin air only to find the flight was already boarded and we had the wrong tickets. Fortunately we made it on the plane only to sit on the tarmac for an hour because of rain. Finally we departed and had a nice little flight over the Atlantic. Upon arrival we were greeted with an conveyer belt with everyone’s luggage but our own. We talked to Virgin and they assured us that our baggage would be sent to us in no time at all. They said we could spend up to 50 LBS for clothes and they would reimburse us. So we jumped on the tube and hung out in London for a few hours and then headed back to the airport. Emirates was waiting for us with bells on, or should I say a bullhorn. We waited in the line at Emirates for an hour and the clothes we had just purchased were forced into bags hat w had to check. London’s aiport security wa ridiculous and only allowed 1 bag that was the size of a briefcase. Well we made it through and got some food for dinner at a pub. Finally our gate was announced and we made our way to gate one. We boarded the plane and conked out for most of the trip. We woke to find Dubai was fogged in so we had to land in Abu Dabi. We sat for almost 2 hours refueled and flew to Dubai. In Dubai we connected with Elizabeth (our videographer) and got some coffee, food and other momentoes. We had a wonderful time talking about love, life and relationships. We departed and landed in Nairobi and then in Entebbe. Bob and gary were there to greet us. We then made the 45 minute trek to kampala where we stayed the night. The next morning I woke at seven and eventually made my way to breakfast. We had a nice devotion and prayer time. We found that the OIA people did not have their luggage either. We waited for the trucks to show up to load equipment and when they finally did we hurried to get off. We stopped to grab some groceries and clothes and then drove some 6-7 hours up to Soroti. The drive was one of the worst I have ever been on. My spinal chord felt like a washing board. When we arrived we unloaded all the equipment and then grabbed some dinner. I also got a call from the Entebbe airport saying that our bags were in. Things were looking up. We crashed at about 10:30PM Jeramy Burchett (drummer/president)

Soroti Uganda mission quickly approaching
Thursday December 08th, 2005 02:01 PM
We are only 3 and 1/2 weeks away from our mission to Soroti, Uganda. The doors of Uganda have been open for evangelism over the past several years. This will be my fourth mission to the region. President Museveni and his wife are strong christians and have welcomed the gospel to their country. We will be Joining with long time partner Jose Zayas for this outreach. Over the last two weeks we have begun our rehearsals and meeting in preperation for the outreach. We will have the opportunity to go into schools and play a few songs for the students and share about our lives while Jose shares the gospel. We will also be doing a festival each night so as to maximize our opportunity to share with as many as possible. We are still a ways away from reaching our budget so please pray about how you may join us. We also need prayer for safety because this is near a volatile area near southern Sudan.


Wednesday December 07th, 2005 06:02 PM


India Video and Africa
Wednesday December 07th, 2005 06:02 PM
Many exciting events are happening here at GME. Just this past weekend I (Jeramy) was in Bend, Oregon working with our Videographer, Beth Fischer on the India Documentary. For those who don't know, we brought Beth with us to India to capture the reality of life as a musicianary. She did an amazing job catching over 17 hours of footage. We have been working (mainly beth) on this film for over 5 months and are in full stride. As we met this past weekend we realized how incredible this piece is going to be. It will give a painfully real perspective to poverty, cross cultural challenges and what it is to do music evangelism. Keep your eyes open for the full film. In the mean time make sure you check out the 6 minute teaser in the media section of this site. Beth will also be joining our team in our September outreach to Soroti, Uganda. We will be working with evangelist and good friend Joze Zayas and crew. Joze has an amazing team including Bob Craddok and Gary losey. We will be doing outreaches in public highschools as well as a large festival each evening. Please pray for us. We still have a long way to go to meet our budget and any partnership would be warmly welcomed. We will be gone September 8th through the 19th.

Stories Reveal The Glories
Monday December 05th, 2005 05:01 PM
One of the greatest joys in evangelism is coming back years later to a place the Lord used you at and seeing all of the fruit that he has brought. Four years ago GME and Jose Zayas did our first outreach to Estonia. We hit three cities in two weeks and the smallest of the cities was Parnu. After the concert, the night of the event in Parnu, one of our team members met with some students who were interested in receiving Christ. All 4 of them made decisions to follow Christ that night. Marii was one of them. This time our mission to Parnu was lead by Marii. The Lord has done so much in her heart that she had a burden to reach her city for Christ. So with the help of our team and local missionaries Marii organized the events for Parnu. We did 6 public high schools, a skate park and a finally concert at a theater. At the final concert Jose shared the gospel and over 100 students responded to Christ. The next day we had moved on to the next city Tartu when Marii called us. She said "you won’t believe what happened. We went from 7 to 52 students in my bible study group because of the outreach." We were all so excited to hear it. Tartu was another city that we did an outreach to in 2002 that we revisited. We partnered once again with the same Campus crusade for Christ missionaries as 2002 to reach the city. We did 5 public high school mini concerts and then rented out the biggest theater in town for the final event. We saw over 500 students come out for the event. After the event we invited students to come to chat rooms to talk about life and faith. Four students came to my table and we discussed some of the toughest questions about God, science and faith. At the end, the one girl who was not involved in church or faith in anyway said she wanted to start her journey of trust in Christ. She committed to going to the bible study home group. Meanwhile Jose was talking with a girl named Anii who came to our outreach in 2002 and committed her life to Christ. She said that the outreach changed her life and now she is leading her youth group as well as other things. It is apparent to us that the Lord was and is still using us to reach the nation of Estonia for His glory. It looks as though we will be used in Latvia in the years to come as well. We connected with a church in Riga and are looking to do a youth focused event in 2008. The Lord is doing great things and we are so blessed to be a part of it. In the next few months we will be preparing for outreaches in Uganda and in Europe. Please continue to pray!

Broken Sticks and Mended lives
Monday December 05th, 2005 10:02 AM
As I sit in my room at a early 1900's Villa in Tallinn Estonia, I'm reminded of the goodness of God. Last night we did a major outreach in Parnu Estonia. Over 400 students packed into a small theater to hear some great music and good news. Tuesday and Wednesday we had gone into schools and done mini concerts to draw students to this event. We did 6 schools and a skate park. As we played with everything in us and Jose shared the gospel over a hundred students came forward to follow Christ. I am so blessed to do what i do. All the hard work pays off when you see people responding to eternal life. As we prepare to do schools today and tomorrow please keep the church in Tartu, our team, the new believers in Parnu and our colleages in prayer.

Just Arrived in Estonia
Monday December 05th, 2005 06:00 AM
Well I've landed in Estonia and am spending the day recouping. I am so excited to be back here. Estonia holds a special place in my heart. I am looking forward to see what the Lord does in us and through us this week. Tomorrow we will be going down to Tartu for a church service and monday will head to Riga to pick up the rest of the team. Please pray for the following: -Safe Travel -Unity -Fruitfullnes -Budgets are met May God use us for His glory throughout Estonia and Latvia

Estonia
Monday December 05th, 2005 04:02 AM
In just a few days I (Jeramy) will be crossing the Atlantic to go to Estonia. The first mission i did to Estonia was in 2002 with Jose Zayas. We did mini concerts in public schools and big weekend concerts at which we shared the gospel. Hundreds of students responded and prompted us to come back. in 2003 we made the trip again. We did outreaches in the capital city of Tallinn and helped plant a church. In 2004 I produced an album for a missionary in Estonia named Todd Davidson (see mp3 and partners). In November of 04 I brought the masters over to him and spoke in sseveral churches. In just a few days we have the opportunity to go again and share the gospel through music. We will be working with students who came to christ at our outreach in 02, to reach the cities of Tartu (a college town) and Parnu. We will do mini concerts in schools and big concerts on wednesday the 10th and friday the 12th. We will also be in Riga, Latvia ministering and planning for some future outreaches. Please Pray! (safety, endurance, fruitfullness, favor, unity, strength) Join us! (We still have many expences yet to cover and your gift will help reach the students of Estonia)

Orlando Festival with Luis Palau
Monday December 05th, 2005 04:02 AM
On the 1st and 2nd of April GME joined Luis Palau in Orlando, Florida for a massive outreach in the city. At the Citrus Bowl grounds we saw over 50,000 people come out and over 2,000 made decisions for Christ!

Many come to Christ
Saturday December 03rd, 2005 09:01 PM
Jeramy partnered with Dave Lubben last week for a worship concert in Phillidelphia Pennsylvania. We had about 1500 people come out and to our suprise many of them were not walking with Christ and over 50 came forward to commit their lives to Christ. It's Astonishing what happens when you lift up the name of Christ.......Anywhere and EVERYWHERE!

Insights
Saturday December 03rd, 2005 09:01 PM
WAKING MOTIVATION Sometimes just getting started in the morning is my greatest challenge. How much more so, when I feel like my life's on a dead end path, in a dead end major, dead end job, dead end relationship...etc. Despondency. Nothing sucks passion out of us more than a cloudy or hopeless vision of the future. Vision drives action, action drives passion. Some will say that passion drives actions, but I'm not buying it. It is true that passion enables us to Herculean accomplishments. Unfortunately, passion as a heightened emotional state cannot be sustained. It's no wonder people fall out of love. Falling in love is a fine thing, staying there requires work...action. The root word of emotion is "motion". Motion drives emotion or feelings, in sinister and lovely ways. The more the Nazi's murdered the Jews, the more they hated the Jews, the more they hated, the more they murdered. The lovely side of the Harvest Principle is the more we do love, the more we feel love. Is there someone you dislike? Go out of your way to show kindness to this person, and good feelings will start to flow, and good feelings will give rise to more kindness. Nevertheless, action or doing requires a clear vision, with a solid understanding of who we are. Trolling around life's waters in a fog can have Titanic implications. Getting ones bearing in life requires fixing ones eyes on a solid, stationary object. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus, the solid, stationary rock of our salvation. If you're overwhelmed with feelings of futility about your current journey or relationship, it's probably because your vision is yourself. I take heart from the words of Mother Theresa, whose ministry was to the Poorest of the Poor in Calcutta, India. This was her waking motivation, "Jesus is my God, Jesus is my Spouse, Jesus is my Life, Jesus is my only Love, Jesus is my ALL, Jesus is my Everything. Because of this, I am never afraid. I am doing my work WITH Jesus, I'm doing it FOR Jesus, I'm doing TO Jesus; therefore the results are His not mine". I think I get it. Mother Theresa was about Jesus. Jesus was her prize. Jesus drives motion, motion drive emotion. No matter how devoid you are of feeling right now, fix your eyes on Jesus, and move. Surrender your doubts and concerns about the future, your doubts about self...etc. No matter how meaningless or crazy your circumstances, roll out of bed each day and press on to Jesus, "Forgetting what lies behind... I press on to the goal for the prize...Jesus". Phil. 3:14bold text here

GME at Tremont
Saturday December 03rd, 2005 06:01 AM
Jeramy had the opportunity to share his testimony and the vision of Global Music Evangelism at tremont Evangelical church yesterday. The body of christ there were very interested in the role that GME plays in world evangelism. Jeramy encouraged the body to get behind their resident music evangelists and support them through prayer and finances.

Insights
Saturday December 03rd, 2005 04:00 AM
GODS MATH Have you ever had a day, week, or month (even a lifetime for some people), where everyone seemed to be getting in your way at work or school, cutting you off in traffic, taking your seat on the bus, overlooking you in conversations, and worst of all…ignoring your wonderful contributions? Does it seem life and society has placed a reticule pattern (bull’s-eye) on your person? With a little introspection, you will discover that YOU are the common denominator of all your fractions. This is Gods mathematical equation for sensitive souls. “Taking offense” is an act of our will. You have never been offended. It could be however, that you have chosen many times to “take offense”. If you can’t get past this infantile stage of the Christian faith, you will never be prepared for the higher calling of Christ in Matthew 5, “…when men cast insults at you on account of me…. rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you”. Sitting around all day stewing about who’s done you wrong, keeps you in the minor league of Christianity. Curiously, churches and other Christian circles are a hotbed for the insecure, easily offended, combustible personality types. Many church fractions are blamed on the devil. In fact, the devil doesn’t need to expend ammunition against an enemy who is lobbing grenades in their own camp. It’s been my long held view that the greatest challenge about being a Christian is living among Christians. My emotional and personal expectations of people in the secular world are low-bar. I’m therefore, never surprised when they are rude, insensitive, self-serving, manipulative, cutthroat and sometimes outright dishonest and even criminal. So, I rarely take offense. When however, I see this little bag of tricks manifest in a Christian, every cell of righteous indignation fires off in me like a 4th of July Celebration! I have high-bar expectations of other Christians, and correspondingly, little grace for their character warts. It’s not until I realize that I too, have been rude, insensitive, self-serving…etc to other people (Christian or not), that my heart buckles, and grace flows out like a river. Let us be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32) -Steve Lile (GME chairman of the board)

Let go?
Friday December 02nd, 2005 08:01 PM
Matthew 5:3 You’ve heard the saying, “Let go, and Let God”. People having been saying this for years, and if it works for you…please don’t stop. I never understood it. I think to myself, “Let go of what, let God do what? My friends always respond, “Just let go, man…. let it ALLLL go.” That doesn’t help either, as I feel this urgent need to rush to the water closet. I guess this must have something to do with surrender. All criminals must eventually surrender to the authorities. You may not feel like a criminal, but the worst crime you can be guilty of in Gods Kingdom is the crime is self-rule. Does your life seem crazy, aimless and out of control? Are you experiencing anxiety and panic attacks? Perhaps it’s time for you to surrender to God’s authority. Maybe it’s time to admit you’re a criminal and turn yourself in. I was taught in the infantry that surrender is the final option in a lost battle. When completely surrounded by the enemy and completely out of ammunition, and completely exhausted of energy and of will, all you have left to do…is surrender. Perhaps this describes your situation today. You’ve got no fight left in you. You are spent. I’ve been there too, indeed, I’ve even hoped the enemy would commit the ultimate act of mercy by taking me out with one shot. This is a special place in our walk with Christ. If not yesterday, if not today, you will be there some day. In the spiritual realm, we are not only engaged by the kingdom of the enemy, but we are engaged by the Kingdom of God. It’s as though we are buffered on both sides, in the middle of this great clash of kingdoms. Surrender…. we must, but to which kingdom? It’s no wonder that Christ say’s to pray, “Let your Kingdom come”. In other words, I’m saying to Gods Kingdom, I’m turning myself in; I surrender to the state of God, to His Kingdom. I am now a ward of Gods state, His subject, and His asset. I am not my own anymore. I surrender my property, my relationships, my identity, my bitterness, and my past, present and future. Total surrender. Now, His will can be done, “on Earth as it is done in Heaven”. I am now, no longer a slave to my self-addiction, nor a slave to Satan, but a slave to Gods Kingdom, bereft of everything called “mine”. Totally broke. Poor. In this place of spiritual bankruptcy, is manifest perhaps the most wonderful mystery of Gods Kingdom, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is…. The Kingdom of Heaven”.

India Days 8-9 (The seeds are planted)
Friday December 02nd, 2005 04:01 PM
Today was an all around success. We woke early to do a church service at the director of the festivals church and the people responded very well. Adam shared his testimony and a guy named Jared spoke. We headed back to the hotel and on our way we came across a guy ridding an elephant. We freaked out and ran out of the van and chased the elephant down the street to try and take a picture. I barely caught it. We then grabbed some food and headed into town to do some sight seeing. We had the privilege of sharing the gospel with our driver Kaswami. He is open to learning about Christ so we have been investing as much time as possible with him. He is our official rickshaw driver. Kaswami drove us around to a palace, a lake and the Ghandi museum. After our tour with him we blessed him with a full days wage in payment. We made our way to our rooms changed clothes and prepared for the festival. Adam and Sudha connected once again to go over the Tamil songs. We then headed for the festival. The crowd was significantly larger that night. There were probably 6-8 thousand people. The worship through music went splendidly and while Reid was preaching I decided to get out amongst the people. I walked around the grounds and was lead to a man in a hand bike. His legs were very thin and obviously not functional. I felt lead to pray for his healing physically but most importantly spiritually. After praying for him I continued my way around the grounds. I was able to pray for several people and talk with many children. The response to the gospel was great hundreds if not a thousand people made their way to the front to receive Christ. The next day consisted of last minute rounds to collect momentums from India. When finished shopping we went back to the hotel to pack up our things and head for the airport. On the flight to Chennai I sat next to a man who was eager to engage in conversation. He asked what we were doing there. I told him we were doing music and telling people about Christ. He quickly perked up and said that he was a proffesor and worked with one of the biggest companies in India to teach spirituality in the workplace. Over the next hour I was engaged in a intellectual conversation. I challenged his thinking by pointing to the lack resolve in world religions to the problem of sin. Christ being the only one worthy of presenting us to God because of his work on the cross. He said he was working with people in the workplace to help them have love joy and peace in their lives. I said they will never have true love, joy and peace until Christ who was love, joy and peace imparted it to them through their acknowledgement and reception of his Lordship. He got fairly quiet and said that’s true that’s true. We had landed at that point so in the chaos of deboarding the plane I was not able to talk with him any more. I did feel like the Lord was working on his heart and thus our conversation encouraged me greatly and amped me up for the long plane ride home.

India Day 7 (Bags, salvation and more...)
Friday December 02nd, 2005 11:02 AM
Of course….. as we came down to lead some songs for the morning event we had to move all of the equipment once again. We moved it all, got set up and the Lord did some amazing things in people’s hearts. Our friend Brad Butcher presented the gospel in a very accessible way so that business people could grasp the importance of living a Christ centered life. Over 30 people raised their hands at this businessperson’s breakfast to receive Christ. After lunch we decided to take some time to go into the city and sightsee. We jumped in a couple of rickshaw’s and headed to the temple. We had a blast with our driver (check out his picture). He was very kind and while he looked 75 he was only 56 years old. I shared the gospel with him (as much as he could grasp) and left it in the Lord’s hands. Viewing the temple and walking around it gave us a reminder of why we are here. The desperation of these people is great and they are calling out to stones, wood and brass to help them. Some of them have idols on their dashboards that light up in Technicolor. They are without hope. But we have the hope! As we pulled back into the entryway of our hotel we gave him more that a full days wage for the fare. He started kissing my head and hands and I shred with him that Christ loves him. While in my room I got a call from NGA director and friend Sudha Peethala. He said our luggage had arrived and they were bringing it to the offices downtown. I wasn’t going to belive it until I had my bag in hand. Sure enough 45 minutes later I was digging through my suitcase for my toothbrush and deodorant. We quickly changed clothes and packed up our things to head for the festival venue. Arriving at the venue I got the news that the Indian band wanted me to play with them. While I had played a little with the drummer the night before they thought I was ready to jump in. Plus their drummer couldn’t make it. I felt inadequate but it went well. This is what I love, being able to play indigenous music with people in their respective cultures. We lead worship with Sudha because he lived in India for many years before moving to the US. Able to Speak 7 languages Sudha helped us with the Tamil songs. Adam and Sudha did a wonderful job of leading people. Reid, who has become one of the most entertaining evangelists I have ever seen, presented a VERY clear gospel message and people RAN to the front to receive Christ. We came back jumped in the pool for a few minutes and finished our day through a God glorifying game of rook while eating Murg Tikka Makhani. I love my Life!!!!

India Day 6 (Another day in the life...that I woul
Friday December 02nd, 2005 11:02 AM
There are so many challenges when doing evangelism overseas. One of the great challenges is uniting churches that (as all of us do) have great differences with each other. Other challenges include cultural barriers, internal team struggles, body adaptation to weather, food and surroundings, language and many more. The greatest thing I’ve experienced in all my missions and travel is that God is sovereign and supercedes our own capabilities. We are seeing that phenomenon here in India. The crowds are not like they were 4 years ago but we are seeing God heal people and every night many Hindu’s are turning their lives over to Christ. Today we got the run around from the airlines……………AGAIN! Not that we should be surprised but it’s getting difficult for for my team members to deal with. It’s interesting that the 2 people who have traveled extensively got their bags but the 3 who have barely been out of the US are forced to learn how the majority of the world live. Today we went to a school in which we found a huge funny looking brass drum. I used it to play and danced around like a clown and entertain the children. We had a blast and the students loved it. One of Reid’s team members shared the gospel and we headed of to get our baggage. When we arrived at the airport we went up to the Air India counter and before I could get a word out they said “your bags have not arrived”. At that point we pretty much resolved to never see our bags again. I talked to a airline agent later that night and they said our bags were somewhere in northern India. I gave up. The afternoon was spent trying to learn some more Tamil in order to sing songs in their own language. At the festival we had a wonderful time of worship and the gospel was given and many responded. We had to leave the festival early to go back and set up the sound for a early morning breakfast outreach. So we came back and set up all of the sound on the second floor room 100 and rehearsed a few songs. Dinner was next on the agenda and after dinner we had a frustrating turn of events. One of the speakers at the event had told us we would be in room 100 but now was saying we needed to move all of the equipment downstairs to the ground floor. After we brought it all down and went up to our room to play rook, we got another call saying we needed to move the equipment back up to room 100. We were so frustrated but I’m fairly used to overseas organizational nightmares. All in all we ended the night rejoising at all that God is doing. Both in what we can see and what we will never see in this life.

Insights
Friday December 02nd, 2005 11:02 AM
We will be posting devotionals once a week here in the blog section of the GME page. This weeks devo is from the Chairman of the GME board of directors and my good friend Steve Lyle. Galatians 5:22-23. For atheists, the bane of their existence is religion. Counter intuitively, religion is also the reason for their Jihad-like passion of non-belief in fact, they have become just another religion. The religion of non-religion, is just. another religion. Atheists rightly so, point to the failures of all religions, and the many atrocities they've (including Christianity) committed throughout history. Atheists have indeed, got the diagnosis correct, but have prescribed just another set of hopeless rules and beliefs. What about Christianity? I am led to believe in America that a good Christian is always prosperous, healthy, abstainer of everything fun, and a good Republican. It sounds like Christianity (whatever that means), got itself into a real religious and pharisaical rut. We have become Pharisees with rules, and rules about rules, and rules about who can make the rules. Listen, forsake religion, and if you have to...even Christianity, and follow Jesus. What Christianity is supposed to be is the pursuit of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Like lovers in love, we chase Him all the day long, and everyday of our lives. We chase Him to become Him and in becoming Him, we take on Christs thoughts, sayings and deeds. Moreover, we take on the psychological profile of Christ, called the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. True Christianity has nothing to do with being religious. This is Christianity in its purist form: a lifelong romance. When people ask you if youre religious, with a big smile reply, No. Im romantic! Italic text hereItalic text hereItalic text hereItalic text here

India Day 5 (The greatest life... without clothes)
Friday December 02nd, 2005 09:02 AM
The morning started optimistically. I got a call at 6AM from Lufthansa letting me know that our bags have cleared customs and they will be sending them to our city. We got good news. We grabbed some breakfast and headed to the internet café to catch up on business. When we arrived back at the hotel, we were told we were playing at a sports and music event. We went up and packed our gear and headed to the venue. We were so excited to get out and play. We got to the venue and waited out in the heat for nearly an hour before they directed us to the building we were to play in. Over 150 girls were packed into a small building where we did 4 songs and got them fired up before a girl from Reid’s team shared the gospel with them. Many responded to Christ! The airport was our next destination. We arrived only to find our bags had not made it. We were ticked! We drove back to the hotel to prepare for our evening festival. While in our room we got a call from the evangelist who was speaking that night and he wanted to talk about the music for the evening. We worked out the set for the night and made our way to the venue. As we opened with the Tamil song Adam got people on their feet and singing. Brad brought a message of hope and people responded. Upon our return home I called Lufthansa and tried to find out where our bags were. I got the run around and was told that they would call me in the morning. Mike and I ordered some great curried chicken and then played rook before hitting the sack. Please pray that the lord would draw more people to the festival and that the church would step up and step out to invite and share their faith with others.

India Day 4 (The Luggage Disaster)
Friday December 02nd, 2005 08:01 AM
For the first time in a long time I hit the sack last night at about 9:30 and slept until 7:30 AM. A good nights sleep does wonders for the body. So fully adjusted to our 13 ½ hour time difference I headed to grab some breakfast. I ran into several of our RSA team members and got a rundown of the days events. At 9:00 I grabbed my laptop and bible with Mike and we made our way to the lobby of our hotel to connect with the driver who was taking us to the pastors conference. Mike and I were doing a breakout session on worship. I sat next to Dr Robnet, the director of NGA, on the way and he informed me of all the good things and challenges that were happening throughout the past few weeks. He made mention of the church in India being in a holiness movement which encouraged people to remove themselves from the world as opposed to not being conformed to the world. Being that my main text was Romans 12:1-2 I thought it appropriate to talk about what it means to be in and not of the world and how our lifestyle of worship is what the world will see as different. The session went very well and people responded to the challenge. After we finished people came up and ask for prayer for healing. I prayed that God would heal their bodies according to his will and that he would give them strength to walk through life with a greater love for Christ. We went back to the hotel grabbed some lunch and then spent the afternoon trying to find some clothes since we still didn’t have our bags. Having found some cool shirts we made our way back to the hotel and packed our things for the festival that evening. Arriving at the fair grounds we found chaos in full affect. Sound cables everywhere musicians from a local band playing away and no order in sight. 2 hours later it was our time to lead worship and we still had no sound for Adam (our worship leader). They stalled for time to get the sound working and finally we had sound. The worship set went well being that we did a song in Tamil and got people on their feet and interactive. The bishop of the region made a comment from the pulpit about how the music was so wonderful and he was glad we brought music from the USA because music unites us together. Hundreds of people responded to the gospel after Reid Saunders gave an invitation. Later that night I called Lufthansa to see where our bags were. I got a woman on the line who said our bags were stuck in customs and we needed to take a train to Delhi to get them. I told her we were not coming to Delhi and if they were not going to send them to us then they needed to send them back to Portland. Another person got on the line and said he would try to work something out but it was not looking good. He said he would call me back in ten minutes. He never called back.

India Day1-3 (the airline nightmare)
Friday December 02nd, 2005 08:01 AM
There are some things that words will never be able to express but a picture comes the closest to. To bad I don’t have a picture of myself today. I have just concluded one of the longest days of my life. 22 ½ hours of flying with 16 ½ hours in lay overs in 6 cities. I’M FRIED Our flight from Portland to Frankfurt was delayed 2 hours, which made us miss our connection to Chennai. With the option of flying out the next day, flying to Bombay or flying to Munich, Delhi and then Chennai, we opted for the Munich route. When we landed in Delhi our bags had not made it with us. Everyone’s clothes (except mine) were still in Munich. We talked with Lufthansa and they gave us some cash and said they would send our bags on to us in Madurai. We made it to Chennai and grabbed a taxi to our hotel. Having reconnected with Mike (our bass player) we freshened up, relaxed for a few hours and jumped in another taxi for the ride of our lives to the airport. We flew to Madurai and proceeded to our hotel

Welcome to GME
Friday December 02nd, 2005 03:01 AM
This is the launch of the long awaited GME website. This blog will inform you as to what is happening in the world of GME and all of it's partners. In this website you will be able to view videos, view pictures, listen to audio, and understand to a greater extent what GME is all about. Keep this website in your favorites list because this will be one to frequent often. For those that are interested in partnering with GME through music, finance, or prayer there is a contact form that will help us connect with you. Thank you for your prayers, Jeramy GME