To Know God...and Make Him Known

McCalls

On Mission...

Aloha 

“I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music. I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” Psalm 101:1-3

Trust in the Lord…

All of us have hopes and dreams for the future but God has been reminding our family of the importance of Him first. There can be so much going on all around us…things vying for our attention and affections. Things that, by all accounts, are good things and other things that are really wicked and deserve to see God’s justice served. No matter what is going on around me, I want to be one who is like what God describes in Jeremiah 17:7-8. It says this:

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”

Seek First…

This a season where God has put many good things on our plates. In the midst of it, God has offered an invitation over and over to seek Him and His kingdom first above all else. In the Gospel of Matthew we have this reminder from Jesus:

“So don’t worry about these things saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matt 6:31-33

March was busy…

God has been doing so much in our lives and through our lives. We lovingly called March ‘March Madness'. Not because the rest of America was watching college basketball, but because there was so much kingdom work scheduled! I’m going to make a bullet point update for March so I don’t run the risk of going too long here… :-) This March, I (Chris):

• Led worship every day during the first week for our corporate week. All schools are together for training and ministry time. Each day had many hours of worship…it was glorious and exhausting all at the same time.

• The first weekend I helped facilitate and lead worship for a Marriage and Parenting conference. This was in partnership with Francis and Lisa Chan.

• The second week I had the privilege to participate in a Songwriting retreat here in Kona in partnership with Integrity Music. This was alongside artists like Leeland, All Sons and Daughters, Common Hymnal, and Isla Vista Worship. It was such a beautiful time of fellowship and seeking the Lord for songs that will help mobilize the Church into its evangelistic call. We wrote about 30 songs during the week. Now we are whittling them down to about 10 songs that we will go after for a live recording sometime in November here at YWAM Kona. Whether or not a song I co-wrote on gets used, this is such an exciting time for our music community! I’m simply honored to play a part in it!

• The next week I (Chris) left for Norway! Rhema came with me to California where she got to have a week with both sets of grandparents for her birthday! She loved every moment of it and she’s getting much too big then I’m ready for! In Norway, I led worship that Wed-Friday for open meetings in the evening and mornings. I got some rest that weekend and the next week on Monday and Tuesday I taught in the DTS on Biblical Worship. It was such a rich time of deepening friendships, pouring into the students, and meeting new friends who have the same heart for Europe via Norway as I do. There were deepening of friendships with other Artists in Norway who are well known and the beginnings of what may become a tour in Norway at some point in time with music. Pray for God’s will in all that he has for me in Norway!

Financial Needs…

• I leave on an outreach to Myanmar and the Philippines at the end of this month (April). I’m still in need to see the majority of my funds come through for the flights. Please ask the Lord if you are to sow into the work being done in those countries with Bible distribution, evangelism, and training. 

• We are believing for finances to take the whole family on mission to the Philippines in July. Our ministry is not just about one or two of our family being on mission, but our whole family entering into the call of missions. This is a priority for Liz and me to get our kids into the nations as often as possible. To minister the Gospel of Jesus together as a family. Please ask the Lord if you are to sow into this with us. I/We will be doing music at festivals (most likely), street evangelism, street prayer, and hopefully family ministry training.

• This week the turn signals on our Ford Explorer stopped working and it’s driving me nuts. Pray that it won’t be an expensive fix.

We are so grateful for each and every one of you. The role each of you play on our team is essential and extremely vital to the mission. If you know anyone who would be interested in helping partner with our ministry please feel free to send them this email or text them a link to our app. 

Lastly

I’m part of a team that has a strategic plan for reaching the country of Myanmar. We believe this is a special window of time while the democracy is still young and pliable to help give a solid biblical foundation to local and national leaders. Since the country is open we have an incredible opportunity to bring the gospel and encourage local believers to go to the unreached parts of Myanmar with the gospel. Our evangelistic strategy encompasses public proclamation events coupled with door to door evangelism, empowerment of local believers, Pastors trainings (Jesus Film), intentional calls to adopt people groups and districts of the nation, and the sphere of media through tv, radio, and social media programming. Our mercy strategies include a stove project and water filter systems. Lastly we have a strategy for Bible distribution and engagement. The beautiful part of all this is that we’re doing all of this in partnership with dozens of other organizations. It’s been so wonderful to see the body of Christ working together to see the great commission fulfilled. Our total need to fundraise for this initiative is $6,840,500.  Yes, $6.8 million…and I believe God is dreaming even bigger than us! The quick breakdown is:

Evangelistic Strategy: $1,048, 000

Bible Distribution: $5,500,000

Stove Project: $270,000

Water Filters: $22,500

If you or anyone you know would like to know more about this initiative, I would be so happy to share with you the vision and strategy.

Phone App... 

We have a MOBILE PHONE APP that is available for iPhone and Android! If you type in the app store 'McCalls on Mission' you will be able to find it and download it! We're hoping to use it as a way to make it easier for you, our co-laborers in Christ, to share what we're doing with others, for us to give you real-time updates when something happens that we just can't wait to share, and a way to send new music to you that I've (Chris) been writing. May the Lamb receive the full reward of His suffering!! 

Peace be with you,Chris, Lizzi, Malakai, Laila, Rhema, and Baby MosesPS: We would love to hear what God has been doing in and through your lives! We'd also love to be praying for you!! Please respond with prayer requests if you have any!!

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