Whoa! We're halfway there, and definitely living on many, many prayers!

Hey friends and family!  

It has been a beautiful 6 weeks here at YWAM Tampa and God has been amazing! 

We started hearing about the adventures of the Sanborns and their ministries with YWAM in Southeast Asia.  The miracles and stories are unbelievable.  There are too many to tell.  But, I will say they are true and God has been faithful to them every step of the way.  I have realized that spiritual warfare is REAL and NOT to be taken with a half-attitude or lightly.  Yet, God makes it so simple.  Simply to be impressed with Him and not with anything else that tries to get in the way of His glory.  We went more in depth with this the second week.

The third week, we talked about our dreams and they vision we believe God has given us.  We talked about how we were each individually, intricately and uniquely made.  God has designed every person for a specific purpose that he wants to fulfill in them.  We discussed different personality types and how we each function as an individual and how we can function together with others who are like us, and different, in a group and on a team.

The fourth week was heavy- talking about the crucifixion, sin and the cross.  We discussed the depravity of man and how God was not able to receive us back into relationship with Him without making a sacrifice.  What an incredible week!  To realize how much God loves us to send His only Son to die that kind of death, and to suffer that kind of torture is painful, and is a process.  But, in the end, it is worth it to see the love that He has for every person, and how important His glory is to Himself.

Week five we talked about Biblical counseling and helping people work through their struggles and problems, yet with a Biblical answer and an actual cure-Jesus.  This week was great!  It was so practical, not in just talking about how to help others, but it was revelational in discovering how God made us in His image and what we were all made for-love.  It brought to light how situations can damage someone and the healing process that takes place in someones life- and how to walk them through that process.

However, this past week has probably been the MOST impactful.  We were led into the father-heart of God and the restoration work He wants to do in us, as His people.  I was reminded how much God really loves us and He wants us to rise up out of our hurt, pain, offenses and unforgiveness.  This was transformational, as we gathered around each other and prayed that forgiveness would be released into situations dating back to our elementary school years.  Afterward, right before dinner we took sheets of paper with situations and people that we had bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness toward and through it in a bond fire, representing our freedom from the sin we were committing against ourselves and God.  It was powerful, and there is a sense of healing and soul cleanliness throughout the school.

The next 6 weeks will be focused on outreach and ministering together to let others in the similar processes we have been through.  It's so exciting.

We have a program already assembled that the staff have put together for us.  We will be learning and practicing the bits and pieces of it over the next several weeks in preparation for outreach.

This brings me to an extremely important prayer request(which I know God will answer in His own time and way.)  Outreach fee due date has moved up to March First.  I did not realize that fees would be due so soon.  Please be praying to bring this money in and about what you can be giving.  I know so many of you have given so much already, and for that I am grateful.  I know that God wants me to go and that He will provide the finances.  He has already been so faithful.  I know it will be in His way and in His timing.  

As a praise, the Lord has rearranged some things and my car has been paid off and I officially own it!  Praise the Lord and thank you mom and dad for listening to the Lord on that and helping with that.  God is so good!  He always provides.

For those of you waiting for that CD I promised, please believe me-it is coming!  I have had to remaster some of the tracks on my own and there is some re-recording that I need to do, as well as finish some tracks before I send it out.  It most likely will not be ready to send until I get back from DTS and I have access to all of my recording equipment in St. Augustine!  It is coming though.  I have NOT forgotten, and have actually found some time to work a little bit on it, despite my busy schedule.

God is so good, everyone!  He is amazing and I am falling more and more in love with Him everyday as I see His goodness and glory in more and more situations.  I can't wait to tell you all more and more about what God is doing.  But, right now, I need to rest.  It has been a mind-blowing and extremely emotional day for many of us.  But I wanted to leave you with a few pictures.  But, don't worry, there is plenty more to come!  Enjoy and be blessed, my friend and family!

EGGS FOR BREAKFAST

MY ROOMMATES JEREMY(WORKING IN THE RAFTERS) AND CAMERON(SITTING ON THE CHAIR) WITH SEAN SANBORN (YWAM TRAINING DIRECTOR AND ELDEST SON OF ART AND ELLEN SANBORN)

MY INTRODUCTION TO PUFFCORN WITH ALMOND BARK

 STUDENTS: DARCIE(MY PERSONALITY TWIN) AND HER ROOMMATE EMMA(MY PLANNING TWIN)

THE LIVING ROOM IN THE 'THAI HOUSE': WHERE COMMUNITY HAPPENS

Be blessed my friends and family,

In His love always,

-Aaron

Three weeks in...

WOW!  Three weeks in to DTS and so much has happened so far!  I am so sorry I have not been able to keep up with this blog as often as I thought!  There is so much going on and very little time to make personal calls and such.  But here we go on the recap....

Saturday, January 7th, 2012 I left Saint Augustine on the Greyhound heading for Orlando, where I wasw met by two staff members, Roger and Marion, who completed their DTS last year and were worship leaders.  We headed to the airport where we picked up a very good new friend of mine, Nicolas, from France.   After about an hour and a half drive, we arrived at our house where we met my other two roommates and the rest of the guys: Jeremy, from Calgary, Canada, and Cameron from Oregon, USA.  We also met our house mom, Helen, her son, Blake (who is a 20 year old trapped inside a 14 year old's body, well, sometimes...) and Helen's dad, Jim, whom we affectionately call Grampa.

It's a great house and we all love each other and really try to go out of each other's way to help each other feel at home.

But, It seems that it's the way the entire school works!  All the staff and students are full of grace for each other.  We all have our quirks and differences, but we all understand where we come from.  We have one French student, two Canadians, two Brazilians, one Dutch, and a student from chile.  From the USA we have  Minnesota, Oregon, Virginia, Ohio, and Hawaii/California/Virginia/Florida (Take a guess on who that one is).  There are 13 students in all- nine girls and four guys.

The staff are incredible!  Art and Ellen Sanborn are the directors.  Art suffered an injury to his spinal chord back in 1999 and was made a quadriplegic because of it.  It's great to see him up and moving around, laying hands on people.  Yup, God healed him.  He's completely mobile.  He wrote a book about it called "Walking Miracle" which the class just finished reading.  It's absolutely amazing!

His wife, Ellen is a vocalist, writer and off broadway actress, not so much of a big deal.  She only opened for Ella Fitzgerald, wrote a few off-broadway musicals, mentored Paul Baloche and worked with Darlene Zschech.  Yeah, you're right.  It's absolutely incredible.

Their sons, David and Sean, are also on staff, and they are just as awesome!  David received raving reviews for his one man, off-broadway show, "King David," which he co-wrote with his mother.  Unfortunately he has fibromyalgia (a degenerative muscle disease which my dad also has).  This limits his mobility and ability to perform.  However, he is still bringing tons of joy and laughs to the group with all of his impersonations.  They are amazing!  Yet, he brings great wisdom, as well.

Sean is the "Indiana Jones" of the group.  He is all about spiritual warfare.  He actually takes joy in hunting demons and torturing them.  He likes to trap them and then sings worship songs when they can't go anywhere.  You might think it's weird.  But I think it's pretty awesome.  I'm pretty sure he's role model and inspiration...well David too.  And Art.  And Ellen.  Ok, they all are my role model's/ inspiration.  But anyway, now that we have dubbed Sean the "Indiana Jones" of DTS 2012, every time he walks in the room, we all have the Indiana Jones theme songs running through our minds.  Sometimes I get my iPhone out and play it for a real laugh.

His wife, Anne, is helping with administration.  She's from Australia and is such a hoot.  She says that Australians only like you if they pick on you.  We have grown to really appreciate each other if you know what I mean.

MeeGee is a Malaysian Chinese and is so much fun!  She, also helps with administration.  We have a good time being the only two asian ethnicities in the group.

Cynthia is our intercessory leader.  A few months ago she got run over by her car in the drive-way and pretty much died.  She felt the Lord literally "breathe" life back into her and now she only has a minor spinal injury.  She walks around in a shell to help keep her back straight.  But, she is no joke.  She has a direct communication line to God and is a powerful intercessor and communicator.  She's totally a spiritual ninja turtle.  We are learning from here every day.

Lisa is an awesome designer and plans all of our meals.  She has designed many sets and stages, but also has a real talent for cooking.  Her heat is for design, though.  And it shows in both her food and her stage sets.

Her husband, Kevin, taught Biblical Studies in YWAM Kona for five years and is also an actor and writer.

So, as you can see, I am in a very good place to help advance my dream of doing worldwide music ministry.  The staff here are incredibly talented and very qualified.  But, more importantly, they have a deep relationship with God and understand what Christ is really doing in the church and around the world.  But, I will have to tell you about what God is doing in my next post.  It's off to meet with the class again.

And, if any of you still would like to support me financially for my outreach phase, you can click on the link above.  I would be so grateful to you!  I need $4,000 for outreach.  And February bills are also approaching.  Thanks for your prayers and support!

In Christ's love,
Aaron

Holy Moly!

Well, today is the BIG DAY!

I am leaving for YWAM Tampa today at 2:30p.m.  The bus will take me to Orlando where I will meet up with one of the team members.  We will then head to the airport to pick up one of my roommates from FRANCE!  WHOA!  CRAZINESS!

So, I was almost packed....but now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think I'm close.  It's extremely difficult for a guy who usually packs one bag for every day he's on vacation to fit 5 months of life into one bag and a half.  It's very trying for me.  I might not make it.  (Just kidding of course.)

Today, those of us who are coming in today will just settle in the rooms and hang out.  Tomorrow we have a dinner after the rest of the students arrive, where we will meet the rest of the team and fellowship with each other.  There are 9 girls and 4 guys.  The guys will all be staying in one room together.  I'm an only child....this will be quite interesting.

Classes will begin on Monday and will continue through March.  I'm so excited to learn and I'm hoping to receive a bit more clarity on the vision the Lord wants for the music He's put inside me.

I'm hoping to do some recording there, as well.  They have a few keyboards and guitars, as well as some recording equipment.

I cannot express to you all how grateful I am to everyone who has supported me so far!  I now can pay for the first 3 months of my school in full with enough to take care of bills and living costs for January.  Now, we are looking at paying for February-May, paying the $2,500 for the rest of tuition, and paying for airfare to Malaysia and Thailand.  Overall we are looking at roughly another $5,000.  Please be praying in this amount of funds and if you do feel compelled to give you can click the link at the top of the page or SIMPLY CLICK HERE!!

Also, for those of you who will donate, or have already done so, I have been putting together a CD that I'm hoping to send out to everyone when I'm done.  So, if you do give, please send me your mailing address so I can get that to you when I get back.

Thanks to all of you again for your prayers and support in this adventure.  I can't wait to share with you all the God will be doing in me over the course of these next 5 months.

Be blessed with grace and peace multiplied to you,
-Aaron

Happy Christmas! Merry New Year!

Between moving my things back to St. Augustine to get ready for YWAM, Christmas, birthdays, New Years, recording new songs, weddings and family hospital visits, I have found very little time to blog since Thanksgiving.  For that I am so sorry to those of you following me.  I just found out that I will have about 2 hours of internet time per week.  I'm hoping to update this blog as well as my Youcaring.com site and facebook pages during that time.  So, you can expect weekly updates.  The next blog post is probably going to come from Webster, FL at the YWAM base.  My bus leaves at 2:30p.m. Saturday January 7th from Saint Augustine.  After a little over 2 hours I will arrive in Orlando where the YWAM will pick me up with another student getting in from the airport.  We'll then drive to Webster and settle in the rooms.

But let me catch everyone up on what has been going on for a little over the past month:

Life has been crazy busy.  Dad has had a kidney stone since the Friday before Christmas and it still has not passed.  We have made two E.R. visits in the past week and he is still in a lot of pain.  Please be praying for him as this Holiday season has been quite painful in the physical sense for him.

My fantastic roommate and one of best friends, Caleb Randall, married the love of his live, Lauren, on January 1, 2012.  What a great way to start off the New Year!  It was a great wedding, filled with laughter and celebration as the two joined together as husband and wife.  Congratulations Caleb and Lauren!

I am currently in St. Augustine trying to help my parents with whatever I can before I leave.  Thank you so much to all of you who have pledged donations to me.  I now have enough finances to officially start the lecture phase of school, along with just enough to pay bills for January!  HOWEVER, ANY SUPPORT IS STILL ACCEPTED AND APPRECIATED!  I now have to concentrate on being able to pay bills for February-May($200 per month), raise the money for Outreach Phase ($2500) and pay for airfare ($1500-$1800).  There is also the transition back to that states once DTS is over to consider.  So, as you can see, there are still a lot of finances to raise and things to consider as school starts.

Working at Best Buy, I was able to to purchase some recording equipment with money my parents gave me for Christmas and have been working on a CD that I will send out to those of you who have donated or will be contributing in the future as a "thank you" for your support.  It's not a lot but I'm hoping you will be blessed by it.  Be sure to email me your home address if you are contributing financially to me so I can send you one.  It's a glimpse into the next steps of my music ministry.

Thank you all again for both your prayer and financial support.  I could not have gotten this far without each and every one of you praying and supporting me in all of this.  I can't wait to share with you all the things that God is teaching me.

In Christ's Abundant Love,
-Aaron

Thanksgiving Weekend

One could not be more happy than to have his beloved, somewhat strange, and quite quirky family visit for Thanksgiving weekend.

I had to come up to St. Auggie to take care of some car issues and we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday at my parents house.  It was just me, the folks and the dog.  The next morning we were going to drive down to Tampa and my parents were going to stay till Saturday.

It ended up being a great drive.  We decided to make a stop in Orlando to have lunch and go to Dad's favorite store on the planet:  Bass Pro Shops.  Now, this store is THE ONE store that my dad could literally spend all day, and never get bored.  It is his sanctuary; his home away from home.



So, dad went on his way, speeding around every person potentially in his way on his shopping spree.

Although, there was one thing that stopped him dead in his tracks: the bass pro fishing T.V.

Now, of course, Mom and I had to keep ourselves entertained and busy while Dad whisked himself away on his motorized cart through his own "heaven on earth."  So, I went shopping for Mom.  And, boy, did I find her the PERFECT gift!

But, of course, I wasn't REALLY going to get that for her.  We both agreed we'd pass on the gift opportunity and followed our fearless leader to the check-out line so we could continue our journey to Tampa.

We arrived in Tampa safely, took a couple naps, then it was off to Best Buy for my Black Friday graveyard shift.

After searching for a parking place in my mom's Forrester, I finally started my ten hour shift- 11:30 Thanksgiving night to 9:30 the next morning.

After getting off, we went to the best breakfast Tampa Bay has to offer at Pach's Restaurant.  Afterward we strolled down Bayshore Blvd. to check out the amazing view of the bay.

....Ooops!  Well, after a couple tries, we had it figured out....

There we go!  It was a beautiful day!  Afterwards, we went back to the apartment for an afternoon nap. Then it was off to Saint Petersburg!  Dad had never seen the Gulf before and wanted to see the sun set. We got a little later start than what I had planned.  After listening to a faulty GPS, which needed to be updated, we finally found Treasure Island.  What a site!  It was gorgeous!  Just what dad needed to see!

After that, we found a neat restaurant with great food.  Mom got a fried chicken salad (Yes, she ate fried chicken.  It's amazing, I know).  Dad and I had some pulled pork sandwiches.  Delicious!

It was a fantastic trip!  I loved having my family down here.  And, it was so good to see Dad out of the house and enjoying the sites and sounds that he loves so much.  It was a weekend to be truly thankful for.  God has blessed us indeed.

Even in the small things, God is faithful.

Well, it has been awhile since I have blogged about how I am doing.

To give a quick update: Work is good, but, sometimes very hard.  I have been going in at 7p.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays to unload their trucks and usually get off anywhere from 4a.m. to 6a.m.  I have also been working the cash registers in 5-6 hour shifts on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and/or Thursdays.

Now, when on register, we are supposed to be selling these really cool protection plans that go beyond the manufacturers warrantee on certain products.  My sales on the registers were not good the week before.  I sold maybe 10% when our goal is 20% per shift.  I talked to a manager and he set me up to work with a guy for about 45 minutes after my initial shift ended.  I stayed on the clock and got some really good tips about making better sales.

The next week I came back in and had been praying on the bus to help me do a great job at work. I wanted represent God well and glorify Him in all I do.  I also asked Him for favor with the customers.  I walked out of the store with a 37.5% sales goal met.  THANK YOU JESUS!  The following shift, I prayed again.  My manager told me they had done real terrible the day before so our goal was pushed to 25%.  My sales were 47% after that shift.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT the selling type.  My roommate asked if I thought that was because of training from the week before.  Possibly.  But, the funny thing is on both shifts I was getting really big products that people really wanted to get protection plans on.  Some of them had already heard about it, and asked me for without me even presenting it to them.

God has been so faithful and has been teaching me about true humility and trust.  It can be challenging to see exactly what God is doing in you.  Many times , He doesn't reveal that to you at all.  Other times, it's only a little bit at a time, yet not enough to make sense of it.  Yet, He continues to show Himself.

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support.  Don't forget if you would like to donate to my YWAM fund you can click on the donate button to the right of this blog, or if you would like to send a check, you can contact me for my information at aaronlovesmusic23@gmail.com.  I am also on facebook at Aaron Gray at YWAM-Tampa.  You can also follow me on Twitter @ Awaron1515.

Thanks everyone!

Stay posted for more updates soon!

Are You a Builder or a Decorator?

At bible study this morning, we were talking about encouragement and the humility it requires.  Our initial conversation began with little ways to compliment each other: "Hey, I like that shirt" or "That's a cool hat you're wearing."  Those are nice things to say and they can be encouraging to someone.  We often refer to this as "building someone up".

But, after a little discussion, one of the guys chimed in and said, "I don't think it's talking about giving someone a compliment.  That's nice and all, but I think it's more about encouraging someone in the truth of God's Word."

But, God's Word can often offend.  How do you encourage someone when the truth can hurt?  The only way to "build someone up" is to point them to the Builder.  Jesus called Himself the Cornerstone.  He is the foundation of the church itself.  So truly building the church means that all of our conversations need to point to Christ.  It's there, in His presence, we can be encouraged and convicted.

Yet, we have this idea that encouragement is merely this pretty way of flattering people.  We pay each other compliments, say nice things, and claim we are building the body of Christ.  To some extent, that might be true.  But, there is more to building each other up than just saying nice things.  What if one of us has a sin or bad habit we can't break that will lead to our destruction?  Will we tell the truth and call each other out like Nathan to David after sleeping with Bethsheba and murdering her husband (2 Samuel 11-12)?

So here is the question: Am I a Builder or a Decorator?

The builder is often subject to uncontrollable elements and uncomfortable situations that can be hard to navigate.  The decorator, on the other hand, has a job once the house is already built.  This job makes the place a pleasant, livable area that is enjoyed by anyone who walks through the door.  

However, many of us try to decorate a house that is not completely built.  Some of us need to be demolished for a complete rebuild, and yet we don't want to lay the foundation because it means we will have to drip sweat and get dirty.  It also requires great strength and precision.  We'd rather decorate  and compliment each other than make a house that is functional.  But a nicely painted house that has termites, dry rot and water damage is not a very safe one.  It might look nice on the inside.  But, once an inspector comes to check it out, he's going to make sure you leave until the necessary repairs are made.

So, am I willing to help build God's house?  Am I willing to encourage and edify my brothers and sisters who are working alongside me?  More so, am I willing to be built, and even torn down to allow the necessary renovations to take place in my life?  We can decorate each other all we want.  But if we aren't properly built, we could cause someone real pain.

Now, constantly tearing people down doesn't make you a great builder at all.  That just makes you a demolitionist.  Remember, the only reason for tearing something down is to build something better in it's place.  It's so important to appreciate each other.  The goal is to genuinely build AND decorate someone to their full potential in the Lord. 

So, are you a builder or a decorator?  I would pray we can all function as both.  Some of us need to be built, while there are others who need some decoration.