Going to Extremes

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Check This Out!



 Check out this GREAT blog post, about a night in the west end written by Brian Heasley. Brian along with his wife Tracy, have led 24-7 Ibiza for 8 years. They're heading back to the UK in July, so it was good to have a night out on the streets with him before they go...

Heal My Heart

I don’t know what it is about being here in Ibiza that makes me feel so introspective. There are times when I feel on the edge of battle…like I’m on the front lines, which has me taking a closer look at myself. Going to war does that. When I think of a solider going to battle, I think of someone who’s taken the time to get their affairs in order. Being here makes me feel like that. Like I want to sort out my stuff, so I can focus on being a better soldier. When you’re worried about all the other stuff, letting that cloud your mind, you lose focus, which causes you to get distracted on the battlefield.

Being here seems to bring to the surface a lot of stuff for me. Even tonight in the prayer room we were singing the song “Hosanna”…there’s a line in the song that says

“Heal my heart and make it clean, open up my eyes to the things unseen. Show me how to love like you have loved me.…”

I just started praying that God would do that in us as 24-7 Ibiza. That God would heal our hearts, allowing us to serve him and this community even better.

When I’m here, I feel that call to healing…that call to let God touch the deepest parts of me. It’s not always easy! There are times when I’m overwhelmed by my own weakness and brokenness. When I see how far I need to go, and it just seems impossible. But then I’m reminded that God can do the impossible! I want God to heal the deepest darkest parts of me. Make me new God so I can serve you better!

First Bible of the Season…

It was an interesting night out on the streets on Thursday night…
When we go out into the west end, we go in pairs. On Thursday night, I was out with Kez, and as we were walking these two guys suddenly approached us. One of them starts talking to me, telling me that he remembers me from a couple of summers ago. The best part is that when we first met in the summer of 2010, I gave him a bible!

When we give out bibles on the street, we try to highlight a specific scripture for that person. I’d done that for him, and as it turns out, it had meant a lot to him. Tonight he asked me for another bible. This was the scripture that I highlighted for him this time…

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” (John 3:16-18 MSG)

Getting to see him again, and have a chat was really the highlight of my evening. It reminded me that God is in every interaction I have when I’m out in the streets. You just never know what God is going to do with that seed that’s been planted.
I’m praying that I’ll get to see him loads more this season, and that I’ll get even more opportunities to share the LOVE of God with him!

Medieval Fair

I got to go to the Medieval Fair in Ibiza Town this week. There were people dressed in period clothing, and different merchants selling everything from handmade soap and jewelry to spices and chocolate. It was a fun night off!

Messy

It’s 4:47 in the morning, and I just got back to my apartment, took a shower, and then sat down to type out a few thoughts…

Tonight was a good night…

There was lots of praying, and chatting with people in the west end. Plenty of opportunities to share God’s love with people…and…there was also VOMIT!

We were heading home for the night when we came across two guys who needed some help. They’d both been drinking (a lot), and were in no shape to get back to their hotel on their own. So we offered them a ride.

Here’s a little Ibiza 101 for you: If you’re too drunk, the taxi cabs won’t take you anywhere. They’re afraid you’ll vomit in their cab, and they don’t like that!

So we get these two guys in the van, and as we’re driving them back to their hotel, one of them starts to vomit on the floor.

We had another situation with a young lady who was on her own, very drunk and obviously in a lot of emotional pain. She would go from weeping, and talking about how lonely she was to telling us to leave her alone. She didn’t want our help, so we watched her from a distance, as she tried to stumble her way home…

Both situations reminded me that people can be messy. Not just in the physical sense, but also in the spiritual sense as well…But the most awesome thing is that even in the middle of the mess, God is still there!

It’s when we take our mess and surrender it to him that he begins to do miraculous things in us.

Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."