Help! And Other Weapons of Noise

For the first time in my life, I feel like I actually know what I want to do when I grow up. It's like everything's changed. And I am so freaking excited!

First things first, I'm sorry I haven't updated this in so long. Things have been developing quite a bit recently and now I feel like I finally have enough solid information that I can properly update all y'all.

I have a job. I'm working at the Chick-fil-A right by my house. Which is where I was before I left for DTS, it's nice to come back and feel loved and welcome. I'm working somewhere close to 30 hours a week. I've been there about a month now.

Also, I've officially decided to go to college. I'm planing on getting a degree in Music Therapy. I want to get the first gen eds done by doing CLEP tests and going to Red Rocks Community College, then pop my musical self up to Fort Collins and finish up all my studies at Colorado State University (CSU). 

Why Music Therapy?

Its taking two of my greatest passions: music and people, and discovering how they influence each other and makes money all at once. Plus also, the aim is to help people simply by using music as the primary weapon... I mean tool. Basically, music therapy is helping people overcome obstacles that traditional therapy cannot achieve, or just using music as therapy to help people (it can range from treating people with PTSD to alzheimer's). 

In other news, Karissa and I now have promise rings. No, it's not engagement, but a just greater level of commitment. We humorously call it 3/4th engaged based off of the teaching about how a man must have the "4 P's:" Prophet, Priest, Protector and Provider. Basically, according to Mr Krebs (Karissa's dad) I have everything but the "Provider" part. So 3 out of the 4, making it 3/4th engaged. To Karissa and I, the promise ring signifies our commitment to stay pure until marriage and to be preparing our relationship for marriage. To, in effect, "one day get married."

Now, help!

"help!" is actually a team comprised mostly of a YWAM family whom have recently finished training with YWAM in Australia. About two weeks ago they were at my church looking for people to join them as they do a 30 day tour (missions trip) in the U.S. They asked me to join them, after I prayed about it, I said yes.

We leave the 10th of May and return the 9th or 10th of June. We'll hit the states west of Colorado from Arizona through California. Thankfully God has given me favor with Chick-fil-A and I can just come right back to my job after I come back to Colorado mid-June. Check it out here: www.helpwt.com

Now I believe we are all caught up to date.

My next blog update will be sometime after the help! tour.

Continue to keep me in your prayers as I continue to seek God and make Him known!

In Christ,

T. D. Ardent

Battle Plan: Wait

Hello friends! It's been a while, and I'm sorry about taking so long to update. I'm thinking a realistic time frame of updating my blog is going to be monthly. So now that our expectations are set, let me show you what God has been doing in my life.

Things have been moving slow. Really slow. But still things have been happening.... let me back up and give you my present battle plan:

Right now, I'm looking for work. I don't have a job as yet, but it's looking like I'll have something by April.

After I get a job I'll be scouting out my greater aim: missions. I'm going to be meeting with missionaries and learning what exactly it means to become a missionary. 

As I do that, I'll be looking into if I want a degree or possibly a trade, for various reasons.

Then, hopefully with money I've been saving up from my job, I'll begin training and preparing to become a full time missionary.

In the mean time I've not been idle. I've Skyped a friend and leader at YWAM Montego Bay Jamaica. I'm going to cast a vision to YWAM about embracing 24/7 intercession and worship. I'll be creating a video and I'll link to it on my next blog update.

Karissa and I have also been having a weekly night of worship at her house. So far not many people are able to come, but we worship nonetheless. It's always an amazing time to be with God.

There is potential that Karissa and I join a family as they minister to a trailer park this upcoming summer. We are praying about it right now.

Other than that I'm keeping my eyes open to involve myself in ministry around the Denver metro area. 

For me this is a season to cement my relationship with God before I step out and begin engaging with my passion for missions. I'm investing much of my time in reading the Bible and worship. It's not glamorous, but it is glorious.

That's a brief and fairly all encompassing  overview of this past month. Keep praying for clarity as I seek God's perspective of my life. I'm excited to see what He has in store.

In Christ Alone,

T. D. Ardent

Not Abandoned

Now I'm allowed to let you know where my outreach was: India!

Outreach was so completely adventured-filled. I feel as if I could tell the stories from my time in India for years. I probably will never tire of sharing all these stories. So I will settle for simply sharing just a few experiences on this blog, and that way I don't have to spend months on a single update and you don't have to spend hours reading it on a blog. If you want to hear more stories, just hunt me down in a friendly manner and preferably bring tea with you. Because tea is kind and very hospitable.

We traversed to three separate locations during our stay in India. So I shall share a story from each location. 

At our first location we were just beginning to learn about Indian culture and how to interact with them. We shared at different churches as part of our ministry. The first church we shared at was most assuredly not in English. We shared through a translator. It was something to get used to--being around people who did not know English very well. There was much adjustment that took place over the course of outreach. After the church service a young boy approached me with his Bible opened. He looked at me and asked for an autograph. I responded that I would not sign a Bible but I took out a piece of paper and signed that for him. Feeling like a famous person was a theme of outreach. 

In the second location, our seemingly constant fame was yet again proven powerful. We were walking around a community praying silently to see God change the destiny of the people in that area. As we were walking through the community, a man approached us and invited us into his house. It was simply a gesture of the hospitality that is held by most Indians. We shared candy with the children in the home and gave them clothing for their little girl. Our host in that general area (a pastor) was so amazed that God used this as an opportunity to literally open a door to begin to forge relationship with this Hindu family. Relationship is the best strategy for bringing Jesus to those who have yet to meet Him.

As we sped along for 35 hours via train, and the buildings morphed and changed in reflection to our geographic movement, our strategies continued to shift and grow. We were able to shift to the streets instead of the four walls of the church and grow by declaring Christ in the midst of the street. One day we were worshiping on the street corner. As we were worshiping, we were approached by a man from a nearby school and he asked us to play for his school event that day. Of course we said yes. So we followed him a few blocks away to the school. When we arrived, we were confronted by loud speakers and boys feet throwing dirt into the air as part of the sports day that the school was in the split middle of. We were seated as guests of honor in the judges section as we awaited our time to shine. A few more races later we were handed a microphone and the crowd was drawn with faces shining in anticipation. The Jamaican songs were sung, my harmonica was flaunted, we danced and shared the story of David and Goliath. It was a moment of Indian hospitality and an open door. I was so blown away at how amazing the opportunity was.

As I said, I have a plethora of memorable moments. These are just a few. God used my encountering the power of darkness in this nation to break my heart for those who sleep in the hapless heaps of rubbish remaining along the edges of the whole of India. I learned so much that I'm not even completely sure to what extent my entire worldview has changed. My definition of normal has shifted and transformed to the point where returning to the normal that I have claimed the last nineteen years seems improper. God has used India to change me. And it's okay. I trust Him.

This is a song I wrote to express to the lost in India that they are not abandoned.

"Not Abandoned"

Chorus:

You are not abandoned/Your voice is not unheard/left completely stranded/Your cause is not absurd/you are of great value/this is completely true/he won't leave you empty/he wants to set you free

Verse one:

Let's beat back the darkness/as we fan the flame of light/finding hope in the hopeless/to human is too trite/heaven was made empty/so you could be made full/my so he hears your plea/he has paid the total toll

Verse two:

Run and hide no more/he is seeking you out/he has so much in store/spit in the fave of doubt/refute every single lie/exchange it for what's true/no more shall demons fly/you shall be made new

Bridge:

The burning trash will not burn out/every stranded plea and shout/he will let out every slave/after all he came to save

Thank you so much for all your prayers! The next update I post will be about my next step. I will be attempting to keep up on this blog and post about weekly. I'm excited to continue to follow God. Here's to this next year!!!!

In Christ,

T. D. Ardent

Plus Also, Photography

The mountains of Kingston

Christmas in Jamaica

A glimpse of Mobay

TODAY: Asia Tomorrow: The World

It feels like I'm blowing away. Literally. Not only has the wind been increasing here (that lovely 'island breeze') but I leave TODAY (I leave the 7th). For Asia. For two months. I'm almost in disbelief that these last three months have blown by so fast.

This last week we were focusing on the gospel in all of the Bible. We were shown how God has woven the truth of the gospel into all of Old Testament culture and practices. The gospel is so precise and amazing. It's mind blowing how much detail God put into producing the gospel and the Messiah--Jesus. I really enjoyed it and am inspired to study the culture and practices of the Old Testament.

Other than that, our week has had a notable amount of spiritual warfare. On Tuesday evening we had a security breach and two laptops were stolen and at least one cell phone. Plus also, it has been hard work keeping unity this week in general. I know all this is happening because we leave so soon and I see it as almost a preparation for our outreach in Asia. I'm sure the spiritual warfare will be very real and tangible while we are there. But God is good. All the time. And all the time. God is good. Amen.

I cannot wait to use all the knowledge that I learned during the lecture phase in the midst of outreach. I cannot believe that following God is leading me to the other side of the world. Following God is a really intense and rewarding adventure. (I named my blog "On A Swing and A Prayer" because that's what I feel like my life will be: A whole lot of childlike fun and adventure [on a swing] while relying on God the whole time [and a prayer]). I'm looking forward to see where He takes me after this DTS is over. If you are curious, I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to be doing after this DTS. So pray that God shows me by the time I get back stateside.... but if He doesn't, I trust His timing.

However, I do have a few ideas: 

International House Of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) Internship.

Come back to YWAM Mobay and staff here

Staff at another YWAM somewhere else in the world

YWAM U of N school: either worship or biblical studies

Join the Jamaica House of Prayer (JaHOP)

Bethel School of Ministry

Travel the world for a few years just because it would be epic

Now you have an idea of some of my thoughts about where I may go after DTS. Time will tell, and God, as to where I do eventually end up. I trust Him wherever He takes me. Wherever I do end up, in the midst of God's power and glory, I'm assured that I'll end up changing the world.

To let you know, I will not be upkeeping this blog during outreach. In the nation I am going to the persecution has been intensifying. So it would be a potential danger to speak publicly as to what nation exactly I will be going to or to post updates while on outreach in Asia. I hope you understand, and hopefully I can catch you all up to speed once I am back stateside. Until then, continue to pray. Pray that we are protected by God. That God gives us wisdom as to how to share the gospel to a nation that is hostile to His love. Pray also that my team is unified and willing to lay themselves down for the sake of the team and of the gospel. Your prayers are needed. Thank you for joining me in prayer and support! I'm beyond blessed to have a whole group of friends and family urging me on as I seek God's plan for my life. I will return with many stories. I cannot wait to share all that God has done with everyone back home. Until then....

In Christ,

Timothy David Ardent

Kinda Sorta Drowning

It is almost like we leave too soon. It's almost like there is this constant droning in the background that reminds me that I will be in Asia in just over a week. Like I'm slowly drowning in the expectancy and excitement.

But I should tell you about this last week.

The teaching was on Revival and Church History. Sheldon (who is my one-on-one [the dude who keeps track of me during this whole DTS]) taught this past week. Sheldon and I are really similar. Especially when it comes to talking Theology all the time. Basically, there was a whole lot of church history and theology. I enjoyed it a whole awful lot. But what I loved the most was how much Sheldon just focused on truth. The truth must be stood up for at all costs. And I also loved how Sheldon kept telling us that we can change the world. He said that he would use the examples of history to show us, over and over again, that God can use only one man to change the course of history. I may sound crazy, but Sheldon said "you can change the world" often enough that I'm starting to believe it. Besides, with God, all things are possible. So don't be surprised if I change the world. You were forewarned.

Other than the teaching, this week was fairly normal. We "celebrated" Thanksgiving. Which looked a lot like chicken, mashed potatoes and salad. Not the traditional Thanksgiving at all. But I didn't mind. It was a day of thankfulness, and that's the point of the holiday anyway. I didn't miss my family more than usual, so it wasn't disappointing to miss all the traditional aspects. The DTS is really starting to feel like a family, so I'm betting that is why I wasn't too homesick: I am a man of many homes (and I happen to be at my home in Jamaica).

Our dance for outreach is coming along. We still need a LOT of practice, but I cannot wait to do it once we get to Asia. Over all, it's just gonna be hard to not get too caught up in focusing on outreach this last week while we still have classes. But God is good and He will give me the focus I can't manufacture on my own strength.

Thank you for your prayers for unity! The DTS is starting to feel more and more like a family, so I'm excited about that. Continue to pray that funds come in. Most of the students still need funds, but we almost have everything at this point! Pray that God prepares us for outreach and for strength during outreach. 

Thank you so much!

Hopefully, this weekend I will be going into town and to the beach. I haven't made it to the beach as yet, and I'm hoping to this weekend. We shall see. Nothing like fun in the sun.

In Christ,

Timothy David Ardent

A Really Cool Puzzle (aka end-times)

This week we were supposed to be watching a DVD series for the teaching. We didn't. Instead Ricardo from JaHOP taught. And He was awesome. So it was way better than a DVD series.

This week we studied the End-Times and the book of Revelation in the Bible. It was intense, and interesting: intenseresting. I learned a whole lot this last week. Before this week, I had heard so many different End-Times theories that I had assumed that it was all guesswork. But this week I saw that there is a whole lot of text on the end-times throughout the whole Bible. It turned it from an untamable beast into a solvable puzzle. I don't want to fill my blog with end-times theology though. I'll keep it more on what I got out of the whole week's teaching as a whole. A statement I remember that the teacher shared with us is this; "[end-times] reveals Jesus' heart and leadership." I was reminded that how, no matter what we study in the Bible, everything is just there so that we can discover Who Jesus is. And the end-times are no different. We see Christ in Revelation. I mean, it is called "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." I also saw how much hope Christians have. We have hope now, and hope for the future. We will get to rule and reign with Jesus. We will get to spend eternity with Him. "What is everything we struggle with when compared to that future glory? For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cornithians 4:17-18).

There has some serious tension in my DTS that came to a head this past week. It has just been spiritual attack after spiritual attack. Our unity as a team has been suffering and it really became a reality this week. But thankfully the staff has been helping us to work through it and it is getting resolved. But we need constant prayer for unity. The spiritual battle is strong.

Because of the spiritual attacks, we were not able to do evangelism this week. So sadly there is nothing to report there. But we did have a time of prayer from 10pm to 3am Friday evening into Saturday morning. It was good. We were able to begin the process of restoring trust and working towards unity during the time of prayer and worship. We also prayed about our outreach in Asia. (Some people on the team still need funds! Please pray and if you would like to partner with us let me know and I can talk to you about sending funds so that all the students can go on outreach) But after the prayer time is when God struck me. One of the staff was with us in the prayer meeting and her son (named Jay) was there sleeping on the floor the whole time. When the meeting was over (at 3am) she asked me if I could carry Jay home to his bed. Of course I said yes. On the way down I stopped for a moment and Jay opened his eyes and saw the stars. I saw him look in wonder at the stars and said, "the stars are cool, huh?" He just nodded in response. Then I took him to bed and left to go back to the prayer room. On my way back up God spoke to me and said, "You know how you were carrying Jay down and he saw the stars and just looked at them in wonder? Thats Me and you. I'm holding you as you look at My stars in wonder." When God showed me that, I just lost it. I was sitting on a step at three in the morning crying because God showed me how He is just holding me. It was a really amazing moment I got to share with God. I love how God moves the most powerfully in the smallest moments and brings His to light in the darkness.

I keep realizing that it is all about the love of God. I think it is a worthy endeavor to spend the rest of my life constantly discovering God's love all the more.

Also, God showed me that fasting (food, or it was sleep in this case) is a way for God to teach us more powerfully. Because fasting is a time of chosen weakness, and in the face of the weakness your walls and resistance are lowered. When your resistance is lowered, you can receive truth and it can bypass your walls. That's why we fast. So now you know.

Then, after God spoke to me and made me cry, I got to Skype Karissa at about 4am my time (8pm her time) and I got to show her my sunrise via Skype. It was really amazing. Long distance relationships does have perks at times. It was also just good to talk to her and pray with her. Even this far away, (16 hours away, if you were wondering) pursuing Karissa is a Joy. 

Random moment when Tim tells just one reason why he likes Jamaica:

I just love warm culture, and Jamaica. I was at church today and a random stranger asked me if I could hold her son as she went to the bathroom. Nothing says trust like allowing a random white person to hold your son.

We are preparing for outreach. It has been fun. We are learning to eat with just our right hand, and learning a song in one of the languages used in the country we are going to. We are also putting together a dance as well. We have had only one practice, but I'm already having a lot of fun with it and cannot wait to do it as part of our outreach. I leave in two weeks from today: December 7th. We have the plane tickets for over half of the students! I cannot wait to see all that God is going to do.

Pray for unity, as I mentioned that before. And also that everyone in the DTS (and the staff too) would raise the funds to be able to go. Pray that God prepares me for outreach and that culture shock won't be too hard to overcome. Thank you for your prayers! It means so much to me to know that I have many praying for me and my team during this season.

In Christ,

Timothy David Ardent