More from Paulman's life

Hello all! So, I'm here to update you on my life here in Halifax :)

1 - Coffeehouse outreach
2 - Worship Leading at West End Baptist

1. First of all, thanks to everyone who prayed for our last Coffehouse outreach. Here's what went well:

• We got opportunities to talk to the friends and people we knew who came out with us
• We got talking about spiritual things, and the Gospel was explained on an inter-personal basis
• DRIME (our Drama/Mime act) went pretty well, and it was a good first run

Some of the things that were more mixed in results were things like the turnout (probably ~10 non-project people came out, which is decent, but we were hoping for more). Also, discussion was a little difficult, and we can definitely benefit from better planning for next time, but I'm glad it got off the ground at all!

So, project is ALMOST over, but we still have one big official event - our final Coffeehouse event at West End Baptist Church. This time, LOTS of planning went into it, and we will be doing THREE "DRIME" presentations (one of which is called "Deceiver", where I get to have lots of fun playing Satan - a character who enjoys making us a slave to sin and see us suffer [though sometimes sin is pleasurable, which is the scary part]).

So, this is the biggest prayer request I'd like to ask you all right now:

if you could please PRAY for our Coffeehouse event on Tuesday, 7PM local time (3PM PST). It'll run for about 2 hours, and it has some really powerful testimonies from some of the fellow people on project, and other powerful presentations. Please pray:

• That God would bring out many people - (those who He prepares to be there)
  
• That many people would encounter Jesus Christ and believe in Him that night (we've seen 8 people so far come to Christ - you can pray that God would DOUBLE that number, or MORE, in our remaining 9 days)

A couple of friends Ricky and I have made on project

Our friend (on the far right) is actually coming out to the Coffeehouse, which is great!

2. Last update I wanted to leave you with is that today was the last time I got to lead worship (with some other C4C people) at West End Baptist Church. I think it was the third time that I got to lead the Church in song (and some Scripture), and I thank God that it seemed to go very well. Since it was our last time there, I really wanted to encourage the Church and call them to renew their focus on letting God change their hearts, and use them as a Church to strengthen their relationships with one another, their families, and to bring the Gospel to the people in their lives. So I was really glad that, in my estimation, the congregation responded to it. For those who are interested in what we did this morning, here's a snapshot of the worship set list:

Call to Worship:
Hosanna (Brenton Brown, Paul Baloche)

Main set:
- Talking and reading from Mark 4:8, 20, and a quick prayer
Come Thou Fount (Robert Robinson & Thomas Miller) - Willingdon Church style
Consuming Fire (Tim Hughes)
- Reading from Psalm 139:1-2, 7, 13-14, 16, 23-24
I Will Hold On (Nigel Briggs)

Song during the offering:
Wonderful Maker (Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman)

End of service song:
Multiply Your Love (Andy Park) - Thanks to Paul Enns and Westside Church for introducing me to this song

I think I really like leading worship, though it takes a lot out of you. It feels like I'm composing a musical sermon when I prepare for worship, so I really appreciate God giving me this opportunity to speak into people's lives. I just hope that He's using me, and that it's not just going in one ear and out the other for people. I guess that's the fear of every "preacher".

Anyways, lots of other stuff happened today, but I can't update you on everything that goes on in this crazy town! Take care - love you all.

Mark 4:20
But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. (ESV)

The first fortune cookie to ever leave me 'touched"

Happy Canada Day & more

Hi everyone,

It's been over THREE weeks since my last blog update. Well, now I'm here to change that.

There are three parts to this update. I DEFINITELY recommend you do NOT miss the video and pictures in part 3!

1. My sister's visit
A LOT has happened over the last three weeks. My sister (Shermeen) came to visit me last weekend, and it was a wonderful time!

My sister's arrival to Halifax! (Full album)

We actually got to talk through a lot of things, and it was good that she came at the mid-point
of project because I got to talk with her about my experience here, and what I've been learning and what she's been learning. One of my desires for Halifax Project was that I would be able to more securely "feel" my faith and relationship with God - that I would have a closer, more immediate sense of God's irrevocable hand on my life.

While I've been here, I've felt, little by little, more secure in my walk with God. I believe it's because I've been able to live out my faith and exercise my relationship with God more, by trusting Him in evangelism, by spending more consistent time with God in talking with Him and reading His Word, by taking leadership and caring about my brothers and sisters in Christ, here. I believe it's really true, the old adage - faith must come with action (see: James 2:14, 26). I expected that God would secure my faith through teaching me new things about the reliability of the Bible, or the historicity of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, or better Biblical interpretation and things like that. But how I think God has been teaching me instead is by showing me that I know enough to act on right now, and so if I trust Him and back it up by taking action that comes from that trust (faith), He will continue to lead me.

Anyways, I just think it's really important for all of us that our faith is something that causes us to change each day, rather than just being a part of our lives that involves singing, worshiping, and going to Church on Sunday. We just studied Chapter 4 of 1 Corinthians, and verse 20 says, "For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power." (ESV) And I believe that the power of God means lives that are more conformed to Christ, each day. (That can be painful, by the way)

2. Paulman, Discipleship Group leader
Anyways, speaking of Bible study (which we call "Discipleship Groups"), my role on project since about Week 4 has been to be the leader of one of the two Men's Discipleship Groups (DGs) here on project. I think of that responsibility in these terms: not that I have to be the most spiritual person in the group (thankfully, or they might be in big trouble), but that it is my role to make sure we are all growing in Christ as much as possible. This means that I get to have Personal Discipleship (PD) times with two of the guys in our DG, Gilberto and Johnson. I've been learning and I hope they've been learning through these times, but you can continue to pray for us guys here on project.

Johnson on Canada Day / Gilberto (middle person)

What I've valued most about the PD times that I've had with Gilberto and Johnson have been the opportunities to talk about "life-truths". Well, what I mean is those things that sometimes takes you half a lifetime to learn (sometimes people never learn them at all), but which are so valuable. Things like how loving a person must not be dependent on whether you feel for them like you used to, but that love means choosing to put someone's best interests ahead of yours (especially when it hurts). That's what it means to care about someone (I don't think it means you always feel warmly towards them).

You might be wondering if this is what people come to mission projects to learn, though. Well, that brings me to another lesson that I feel very strongly about, and it's something that's come up in our DG and also with our whole project, before! It's my firm belief that you are never going to serve or please God in the way that He wants you to, unless your heart is in right relationship with Him, first - unless your character is pleasing to Him. Here's my Scriptural backup:

2 Peter 1:5-8
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV, emphasis added)

If my life could be used by God to see Christians grow in these things, so that our families are safe places no longer filled with fighting, that we are known for the patience and love that we have for one another - so that giving to help the needy and defend the helpless is a natural response for us, and so that we take proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ seriously (leaving the results to God), I think I could die a very happy man. Well, I'm sure I'm leaving a lot of stuff out in my summary (a wife and kids I'm sure is in there, somewhere).

3. Canada Day in Halifax!
I wish you guys could see what a crazy bunch of people we are. Not only that, but this group is filled with quality people, too. It's funny how fun-loving often goes hand in hand with quality. Anyways, here is a video of our crazy exploits on Canada Day, along with a bunch of photos (see the very bottom)!

Prayer requests:

1. For me - that I would be able to manage my time between school/research, project, and personal time - all the while growing deeper in my relationship with God.
2. For the guys in my Discipleship Group (Gilberto, Johnson, and Ben Harrison) - that God would have His way with us.

(Feel free to always pray for the non-Christians we are trying to reach, but more on that next time)

Thanks and blessings to you all!

And now, without further ado, Canada Day photos!