I lost my footing.  I stepped across the divide that is my living room floor and in comfort so excessive I stumbled.  Still standing tall I was in trance half existing in the moment and half existing in the past.  I could smell the scent of recently "febrezed" upholstery and the uplifting stench of fish and urine.  Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand began to overcome me.  It's been well over a year since I boarded the plane that would leave south east Asia behind and I could not have told you with any degree of certainty that I was sure I would return. 

Asia is the place of my birth.  It is also the place of my awakening. 

 

Your support and prayers have been a huge blessing.  Please continue to pray about how you could partner with this ministry and financially support our involvement with The World Race.  Click here to donate.  Every little bit helps.

I'm certain the lady on the treadmill to my left could hear me as a multitude of different languages burst through the air of the recreational center.  None of which I could understand or in that moment, even control.  I lost composure, I lost control, I lost it all... for the sake of a revelation planted in my life.  I am quoting the seed planter when I say this, "You get Jesus for nothing, but Christ will cost you everything."

I was sitting on a floor of a meeting space in Koh Samet, Thailand the first time I came into the presence of a seed that would eventually bring about the death of my complacency with my walk with Jesus.  Up until that moment all I ever needed was the very place I was camping.  My Salvation.  It sickens me to think of the amount of time that was lost while I was claiming a call self serving and comfortable. I was found yes, but what is the use of being lost and found to only spend the rest of your days sitting idle on a shelf collecting fleshly dust?  We are made for more than our current condition.  We are called as co-heirs with Christ.  This took months to marinate to the point of breakthrough yesterday but I will attribute the longevity of that marinating to my stubbornness.  My hope is to pass this on to anyone with in my reach, because as I'm discovering just now, my new name really is Brian Christ Alonzo.

It all stems from the book of Matthew.  42 Generations and an inheritance. A change of DNA.

"So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations."

If you take the time to go through Matthew 1:1-17 you will see that the author totals the number of generations as 14+14+14 =42.  Now take a closer look and count through the number of generations and you will see that the number listed up to Joseph and Jesus are 40 & 41.  This is not a mistake in calculations.  Where is the missing 42nd generation?

This takes me back to that seed. "Jesus you get for nothing, but Christ will cost you everything."  Salvation is a blessed and amazing gift given freely but that is not the end game.  Our ticket to heaven is not the final destination.  The missing generation so cleverly placed wide open in the book of Matthew has been screaming off the pages from the time that gift was given.  We have a birthright.  As new creations in Christ we have an inheritance.  This is not about wealth and prosperity.  This is not about blessings and salvation.  This inheritance is about becoming a co-heir to the Kingdom of God planted is us.  As the church we are on this earth to claim that birthright.  We are, as the church, God with skin on.  As the 42 generation unto Christ.  Claim it!  Walk and be undignified unto Christ if that's what it will take to move past the drudgery of your settled state of Christianity!  Stand on roof tops declaring your new identity!  Walk in righteousness and command darkness to flee!  Seek out Chaos and bring order! Give praise and give God the glory for your new name!  Run on treadmills in local recreation centers uncontrollably praying in tongues... 

Stacy and I are back in the states.  Our time on the field has ended.  The responsibility of leading the squad has been handed over to three very anointed and gifted world racers.  Our role has now shifted to a support role for the new leaders as well as the rest of the squad.  This will be done Stateside, affording us the opportunity to settle back into life, ministry and our marriage.  This transition has always been the plan and is a blessing in every possible way.

Living in the States as a support raised missionary does, however, have its set backs.  Mainly the cost of living.  We are still raising support to fund our work with The World Race.  Those donations go towards paying for our expenses we incurred while we were on the field.  Donations also go towards funding our travel back out to the field for two weeks to debrief the squad in Southeast Asia.

Along with working for The World Race, living in the States has required us both to take second jobs to cover our current living expenses.  Your prayers and support are needed during this time of transition. Please pray that Stacy and I will find time to rest and process the past year and a half of our lives working and living overseas.  God has already blessed us by providing jobs, but we still need help.   The amount of time we spend following up with the racers while they are still on the field takes up a lot of our time and limits the amount of free time we can a spend towards working. 

This is where we need you.  Our goal is to raise $19,300 by the 15th of April.  This amount will cover the expenses we have incurred on the field as well as our travel out to the field two more times.  We are doing everything we can to make this happen, but like all ministries, it cannot be done alone.  Please prayerfully consider making a one time donation or becoming a monthly supporter. 

 

 I woke up this morning in a cheap hostel in Istanbul, the call to prayer loud and present screaming from the mosque two blocks down the road. 

If you have been out of touch or missed the many blog updates from the past 17 months, you might be quick to assume that my present location is the result of months of savings and possibly even investments with an occasional paycheck along the way. I would be blessed if this were the case.

I've had many jobs over the course of my life. A strong work ethic is something deeply ingrained and appreciated. You can thank my parents for that one. There are few things greater than the feeling of something earned. As I've moved from a steady 401k to this new phase of my career, one thing has remained the same: the reward.

I've been around the world twice over and have been supported by the employment of a different kind of company.  This a company that identifies with a need, a company that in its own search for an answer has devoted resources to meet this need. How do you send someone to love an orphan? How do you send someone to feed the hungry? How do you send someone to awaken a generation? 

This company understands that you can't simply send a bill to the one that received the love, or the food, or the encouragement. How do you bill an orphan? You don't.

The resources necessary to impact those in need must come from the opposite direction. In order to facilitate a true sense of community that stretches beyond the extent of the street we live on, we must be willing to collectively answer the cries for help, from wherever they come from, both local and abroad. 

This different kind of company doesn't have a board of directors. This different kind of company doesn't have a human resources department. This different kind of company doesn't have an employee stock purchase option. 

This different kind of company is made up of individuals who have identified a need and chosen to do something about it. This different kind of company is made up of school teachers, stay at home moms, students, small business owners, farmers, CEO's, interns, doctors, cashiers, pastors, nurses, churches, unemployed, and so many more.

I am currently employed by all of them, sent out with their resources to meet the needs of those without. I would be blessed to say I have financed this entire thing, but I am even more blessed to say that I am here because of the financing of others.

I woke up this morning in a cheap hostel in Istanbul...

God and the world from Caitlin Woodward on Vimeo.

God and the Church from Caitlin Woodward on Vimeo.

Squad Leading from Brian Alonzo on Vimeo.