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Alfred Nobel’s (peace price) legacy

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Hey our friend

20141004_165423_Richtone(HDR)We hope you had a wonderful week. Here in San Francisco we are experiencing right now our summer months with temperatures up to 96F which is very unusual for here but we wont complain since we actually really enjoy it! About 6 months ago we started an encouragement group at Café Roma. It is amazing to see how each person that comes is encouraged when they leave. It is a very simple concept but it literally brings hope and courage to people. Start one in your area. Email us to learn more on how to do it.

Please keep praying with us in this season for North Beach San Francisco. Over the last few months we had many car break ins in our neighborhood as well as robberies and other violence. Most of that violence is located on Broadway which holds 8 strip clubs in a very small area, which draws many other problems. Pray for protection over the police while they are doing their job and pray for the people that go into the clubs as well as the women that work there. Pray for Gods peace and love to come to those places. Thank you for praying with us!

Alfred Nobel’s (peace price) legacy

20141004_165257A little while ago  I heard the story of Alfred Nobel, the founder of the nobel prize (see more of his story on Wikipedia). Nobel was the one that invented dynamite. Many years into his life his brother Ludvig died while being in Cannes. But the French newspapers thought Alfred died and wrote this as an obituary: “Le marchand de la mort est mort (“The merchant of death is dead”) Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”

After Alfred read his own obituary he came to the realization that people would remember him of something he doesn’t want to be remembered for. So he created the Nobel Prize. In his will he left 94% of all his money towards those prices. The most famous one is the Nobel Peace price and that is also the thing Nobel is remembered for.

If a newspaper would write a obituary about you today what would they write about you? But more important what would you like them to write about you? But the most important what would God want them to write about you?

These are good questions to ask when we go on with our everyday life. Ask yourself and then write out a obituary for yourself with all the things you want to be remembered for as well the things God called you for. Read it every morning and live your day focused on that finish.

Remember!!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

http://youtu.be/JPOVwKPMG8o

P.s. Any fulltime ministry always comes with a cost. For Jen and me it is the cost of San Francisco. City ministry is expensive, but in the same way really needed since more and more people in the world live in cities. Consider joining our support team. We still have a way to go, but we are praying for that by January next year we are fully funded through committed monthly support. During this year we lost a few monthly supporters, so to reach that goal we need about $2852 more monthly. You can support us with any amount you like since no gift is too small or too big. Click here to find out more on how to do it! Thank you for considering us.

Great Commission possible

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Hey our friend

We hope you had a wonderful week. During this week we had a vision meeting to see where we are at and what God has done in this last season but also to look at where we are going and what we need to do to get there. It is amazing to see how God is moving things forward and how he answers prayers.  Please keep praying for us and the ministry to stay in step with what God is calling us to do. Thank you for joining us.

IMG_8062Any fulltime ministry always comes with a cost. For Jen and me it is the cost of San Francisco. City ministry is expensive, but in the same way really needed since more and more people in the world live in cities. Consider joining our support team. We still have a way to go, but we are praying for that by January next year we are fully funded through committed monthly support. During this year we lost a few monthly supporters, so to reach that goal we need about $2852 more monthly. You can support us with any amount you like since no gift is too small or too big. Click here to find out more on how to do it! Thank you for considering us.

Great Commission possible

When we think about the great commission it can be become really overwhelming. The world has about 7 billion people and about 640 million out of those are Christians. Yes that seems like a big amount of people to reach. But reality is if every Christian brings the gospel to 11 people the job is done. That doesn’t seem too hard anymore right. But how can we do that?

Jesus told us in Matthew 28.18-20 to go to all the nations. So that sounds first that you need to go overseas to be able to share the gospel, but that is not totally true. He said all the nations. You are already in a nation, you already have coworkers that don’t know him and of course you have neighbors that live right around you that many times don’t know him either. Why don’t you start right were you are at? If you know 11 people that don’t know Jesus bring the gospel to them. If you don’t know 11 people that don’t know Jesus, find them! You can use the concept God gave us (Just click on the link and read the 11 part series on our blog. This link gets you to the first one and then just keep clicking to the next one at the bottom of the blog page) or use whatever way God is giving you. You might think 11 people don’t seem very significant in the bigger picture, but if each Christian thinks that way we are not moving forward. Mother Teressa said once:

“Not all of us can do great things. But all of us can do small things with great love.”

So lets start loving people like in 1. Corinthians 13 and through that show them the gospel in action and give them a hunger for Jesus!! Start today!!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

A community that stands with you

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Hey our friend

Another week went by and another week to be thankful for. Last Monday we got some much needed rest after a busy weekend with Block party and Loren Event. God knows exactly when we need those times and just guides us perfectly. We also had the new DTS school start working with us. They are helping out at the boys and girls club and do Prayer Walks in the neighborhood during their time here. Please keep them in your prayers for this season especially for after DTS that they can take home what they learned in ministry time and reach their own communities. Thank you for praying.

A community that stands with you

DSC_0145San Francisco has the most famous prison in the world, Alcatraz. When it was still in service it was one of the highest security prisons in the world. One of the advertisements for the tourists today says: “Break the rules and you go to prison, break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz.” I got reminded of Alcatraz when we were reading in Acts the story about how Peter got arrested and put in jail. 2 things that stuck out to me in that chapter: standing for each other as a community and faith in God that He actually answers Prayer.

Acts 12.5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Peter was put in jail but he was never alone. His community was standing with him in Prayer. Through that time of Prayer the community worked together with God and through that angels were released to free Peter out of a high security prison. It shows to me that when we stand together in unity God will move through us. It doesn’t matter if it is a famous apostle or someone that is struggling in their faith. We are called to stand with them as a community in unity. We also saw that with the YWAM building in the Tenderloin. Many believers stood together in Prayer as well as financially to make the impossible possible and see God move in powerful ways. Since September 23rd YWAM San Francisco owns the Tenderloin buildings!! Of course there is still a mortgage that has to paid off but God will make a way for that too!!

The second thing that really stuck out to me was the fact that after Peter was freed from jail; he came to that community that prayed for him which didn’t let him in because they couldn’t believe that he is actually free (Acts 12.13-16). That stirs up the question are we actually believing that God will move in areas that seem impossible through our prayers or do we just pray because we feel we are supposed to? I believe that when we start praying in the authority God has given us we will actually see more and more miracles happening. That didn’t just count for the Apostles during bible times, no that is still relevant today.

Start this week with praying for someone in your community in faith that God will change their circumstances and bring hope. See what’s happening.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Are you in focus?

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Hey our friend

TH_calhoun terraceWow what a week and weekend. Last Friday 20140919_11023220140919_200212_Richtone(HDR)20140919_220428_Richtone(HDR)we had the founder of YWAM Loren Cunningham share with all the staff and then after with many people from the bay area about Global Missions and mission in the bay area. It was amazing to see all the different ministries that participated in this event and to see what God is doing in the big picture in the bay area. God is on the move worldwide and he wants to use you as well. And if you wonder if you are called, the only reason that you are not is if God told you that you are not, since He already called each one of us (Matthew 28.18-20).
And on Sunday we had a big block party (which Jen helped to organize) where we met many more of our neighbors. It was an amazing event!!

Focus

I don’t know if you are into video or Photography, but if you are you know how important focus is. When you take a picture you need to make sure that you set your focus on the object that you want to be the center and blur out the rest. This example is also true for our relationship with God. When we sincerely read our bible, spend time in worship or Prayer something in us changes and our focus starts to be on God. But to achieve that it is good to break down distractions beforehand. As an example you have this thought of work that you have to do, instead of keeping it in your head, write it on a piece of paper so you don’t forget and then you can deal with it after your time with God. Also silence your phone or any other gadgets that could distract you. Make sure you also set a good amount of time so you don’t have to worry that your time is limited. When we put our focus on Him it will actually help us to connect with Him in a deeper way. But not just that, it will start to transform our time with God and us, because we start living like Jesus who said that he is only doing what he sees His Father doing (John 5.19-20). And we can only see and hear what God is doing by focusing on Him and learning from Him.

We want to challenge you to look at your life and see where you are out of focus. Find those areas and put the focus back on God. It will transform you and many others.

God bless you

Markus and Jen

Invest your most precious gift, your time

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Hey our friend

20140902_101641_Richtone(HDR) 20140902_085513_Richtone(HDR) 20140901_095028_Richtone(HDR)We hope you had a wonderful week. Jen and I got really blessed with a trip to South Carolina. Last year a good friend from the neighborhood passed away and he told his son that he should do something special for us so his son flew us out to his home in South Carolina. It was an amazing time with also remembering this wonderful friend. Thank you friends for that wonderful time.

While we were gone everything else just kept moving forward. One of our Staff started to give Computer classes for seniors in a local neighborhood center. Through that we are able to connect with more people and also bring hope to some of the elderly by connecting them for some to their far away family by email.

Invest your most precious gift, your time

When Jesus talked about to love our neighbor in Mark 12.31 it was not just a good advice, not it was a command. So in a practical way that means: To love someone we have to invest in them. If you want to see an outcome in anything you are doing you need to invest into that area. If you think about your finances, if you put all your money in a box under your bed you will not have any gain. But if you invest it you hopefully will see a gain. The same is true for relationships. When you spend time with family or neighbors and invest in them as an example by encouragement, bringing them closer to Jesus, help them with garden work, just spending time with them, you show in a practical way that you care. You are showing them by your action that they are loved. Over the years I met many fathers, but I have to say the best ones where the ones that took time out of there busy life to spend it with their child. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what you do in that time, just you showing up already makes the difference.

I want to challenge you this week to make your most precious gift available to further the Kingdom, your time. Pray this week and seek God on how and who you should invest in. I promise you none of that time will be wasted.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen