From Indiana

During the last few weeks of my time in YWAM DC we had two youth groups come through that partnered with us in ministry.  The first group came from Indiana and joined us for about a week.  Here are some of the things we did.

One of the things we did was a monument tour.  This tour is not like the other tours in Washington D.C.  While most tours will give the historical aspects of the monuments, this tour includes the Christian perspective.  Our guide for the night is also the leader of YWAM DC.  He often asks the question, "Where was God in all of this?"  He tells his personal journey with God as well as giving the history of America with God in the picture.  While most of the youth group students have learned about the history of the United States without Jesus, this was a chance to revisit history with the perspective of God.

This tour was a very long one.  We went from the Lincoln Memorial all the way to the Jefferson before returning to the vans.  We cover various topics from the Civil War and abortion to God during the founding of the United States of America.  We walked well into the night touring the monuments for several hours and pondering the implications of God and country.

 One of the ministries that we did was putting together school supplies for the under-privileged in the lower income areas.  The ministry center that Washington House of Prayer runs out of a place called the Gatepost located in southeast Washington D.C.  This part of D.C. has many people living in government housing and the demographic is predominantly African-American.  We assisted the pastor of the Gatepost put together bags of school supplies.  Most of the children are at risk to drop off and supplying materials for school allows them the change to succeed.  The pastor mentioned that when a student does not have proper school supplies, teachers do not give as much attention to them putting them at greater risk of not completing school.

For this week, most of our times was facilitating their outreach instead of actually working directly with them.  We provided worship times and rides around D.C.  All in all, it was good preparation for the next time that was going to come.

Course Correction

I was hoping to write this blog from an airport lounge or maybe even from Tajikistan letting you know that I had made it safely or was on my way to my final destination, but as with all things with the Lord, my plans are subject to change with what the Lord wants.

Map of Pakistan

Yesterday, I talked with my outreach partner Tim and we decided that we were not going to make this trip.  During the phone call we decided that it would be best to not make this trip.  Pakistan is still on out minds and we hope to make a trip out soon but as of now it is postponed.  We still believe that the Lord spoke to us about going to Pakistan and these things have not changed.

There were a couple factors for me that prevented me from making this trip.  One of the reasons we cancelled the trip was due to the lack of finances by this past Sunday.  Our goal was to leave Sunday and return by the 18th or 19th of August.  By the end of this time I was still $2800 short.  Another factor currently is that our visas are still being processed at the Pakistan Embassy.  The normal process should not have taken as long but for some reason there seems to have been a delay.  There were other factors in the mix but these are the two main reasons.

Both Tim and I will be losing money for the visa process fee and hopefully we will be receiving our passports back from the embassy very soon.  Through all this we feel we have done our part to be obedient to the Lord with preparing ourselves for this journey and should the opportunity arise again, I shall be attempting another trip to Pakistan.

In the mean time, I will be at Washington D.C. House of Prayer/ YWAM DC until school starts.  We currently have a youth group outreach team visiting us from Indiana.  They will be here until Friday and will be doing ministry with us.  Next week, there will be another youth group outreach team. This team will be from Virginia beach and has been said that they are a radical bunch.  Both of these teams will help till the ground for revival in America as well as the David's tent event in the fall.  I will hopefully be posting more information on David's tent very soon

On a different note, I feel that my blog has primarily been used to send out little posts for support raising and although it is necessary, I feel it takes away from the point of this blog.  I created this as a way to give out updates on what I am doing in missions.  To be certain, I will always have financial need doing missions but that is not the main purpose for this blog site.  So unless it is a special circumstance, I will try to leave my financial support information on a separate page while updating the main post with different events and activities that I have, am, or will be participating in.

Upcoming season

Our base leader praying on the mic

My season at YWAM-DC is coming to an end and a new season is beginning.  My time here in the United States Capitol will conclude with a trip to Tajikistan and Pakistan Lord willing.

This season has been one of realigning with the things Jesus had done in the past.  It was a time of being reminded of the journey I have already walked through and new adventures ahead.  This was also a time of rebuilding disciplines of spending time with the Lord and prioritizing His presence.  We spent many mornings as a team praying at the President's Park as well as worshiping at our main base location.

Praying in the morning
and mapping out the tent

At the moment, I am still waiting for my passport to return from the Pakistan Embassy with a tourist visa.  I am also still in need of funding for plane tickets and ground fees for both Tajikistan and Pakistan.  Although it seems impossible for us to go with such short notice and as almost a last minute trip,  I feel that I am supposed to believe for the impossible to happen because what is difficult with man is not difficult with God.  There has not been much change with my financial status but I have faith that breakthrough will come.

It is never too late to partner with me to see the gospel brought to the far reaches of the earth. If the Lord moves on your heart and gives you inspiration to donate, you can do so at the http://samuelschoi.blogspot.com/p/financial-partnership.html link.  

Part 2: A thousand words...

I recently was able to purchase a camera for my missionary journeys and already I am seeing the advantage of taking my own pictures to post on my blog.  So here are a few photos of what we do in D.C.


 Every morning at 6:00AM, we gather at this point of the Ellipse, the President's backyard, and we have a time of prayer.  We have been praying for various topics but especially for an event in the fall called David's tent.  More information is available at davidstentdc.org.

Sometimes our leader Jason, has a short group meeting where he might share or invites some of us to share.  Then we take a lap around the ellipse.  We are essentially prayer walking and preparing the grounds for the 40 days of worship.

Every so often we stop in front of the White House and intercede for the President of the United States of America.  

On different occasions, we have different short term teams who come and visit for outreach in Washington D.C.  This particular team was a youth group from Augusta, Georgia.  They had come to do outreach as well as pray with us for America.  They ended up staying for about four days.  We are meeting on the far side of the White House grounds before taking our prayer walk around the ellipse.

 After our meeting, we took our walk as a group.







As posted in my previous blog, we gather together every Tuesday and Friday Nights from 7:00PM to 9:00PM for worship and prayer.  The Augusta team joined us for a couple nights at the beginning of the week and we added some extra nights of worship for the past week.

My trip to Tajikistan and Pakistan is quickly approaching.  I have currently filled out and will be turning in my visa application tomorrow so please keep that in prayer.  Specifically that Tim and I would get our visa's for both countries.  We also have not met our financial goals for this trip.  The majority of the costs of the trip will be for flights to Tajikistan, Pakistan, and back to the states.  I am still about $2800 short for this trip and the date is quickly approaching.  In the natural it seems that this trip will not be happening but I have faith that it will still take place.  So far, I have enough for both of my visas but will still need finances for flights and ground fees.

So, if you would still like to donate to the Tajikistan/Pakistan trip, the link is still available through http://samuelschoi.blogspot.com/p/financial-partnership.html.  It is this kind of partnership that allows missions to exist overseas.  Thanks for your prayer and support.

YWAM-DC pt. 1

1.5 months is about how long I have been working with YWAM-DC/ Washington HOP and it has been quite a journey.  The first couple of weeks was filled with visiting the park behind the White house known as the "Ellipse" because of its oval shape, praying for America and watching the Truth Project videos.  Before I finished watching the DVD series, I had left to visit my friend in Spokane, WA for ten days.  I was there for his wedding and was one of his groomsmen.  Although it had only been 2 weeks since I had joined YWAM-DC, it was a nice break to visit an old friend and celebrate his marriage.

After making it back to Washington D.C., I hit the ground running.  It was back to full time ministry. 

U.S. Capital Building

One of the opportunities that I had was to work with a ministry called Aglow International.  This ministry started out as a woman's group but had recently allowed men to join in.  Although I am not too familiar with this ministry, they are very organized and focused with their mission.  As well as being rooted in prayer and the word, they are also politically active.  The focus of this trip to the nation's capital was Islam and the spread of Islam in America.

Although it does not seem like a topic of concern, the three days of gathering were filled with different people expressing what the problem was.  In any other context, I would feel like it was a conspiracy theory, but because of the evidence that was given, it was undeniable that Islam's influence in America has grown widely.   This is a topic of discussion at a different time and even maybe a different place.

While working with Aglow, we were able to go on an exclusive tour around the capital building.  Ruth Mizell gave us a tour around the building.  Some of the places we were able to access

Ruth Mizell and Aglow leader praying for YWAM

 

 

were the Chapel and the floor of Congress. These are restricted unless accompanied by authorized personnel. Since Ruth Mizell's husband was a retired Congressman, she was allowed to take us to these areas.  We spent time praying over microphones and seats at the floor of Congress.  While most tour groups had to stick to center zones, we were able to go where most people were restricted from.

View from Capital building balcony

This is another example of being allowed to view restricted areas.  This balcony is located in an area where most tour groups are not allowed to enter but because of who we were with, Mrs. Ruth Mizell, we were given access.

YWAM update

Dear friends and family,

I am writing to you because I have some news to share. After a year of working and school, I have decided to temporarily re-enter the ministry. I will be continuing education in the fall but during the summer I will be doing full time ministry.

Youth with a Mission (YWAM) has many locations around the world and the group I have joined is in Washington D.C. YWAM DC’s main ministry is running a house of prayer. They call themselves Washington House of Prayer (WHOP). The current schedule is from 5:30AM to 11:30AM Monday through Friday with evening prayer sets on Tuesdays and Thursdays open to the public from 7:00PM to 9:00PM. During this time we spend time in worship and intercession on various topics. The morning schedule consists of praying by Capitol Hill, video lessons, worship and prayer, and praying on the ellipse side of the White House.

Another event that is coming up soon is a trip to Tajikistan and Pakistan. My friend Tim has a heart for Pakistan and wants to end up doing long-term missions there. This trip will be a scouting trip to Pakistan. From August 5^th, I will spend a week in Tajikistan meeting with the brother of the leader of YWAM DC and a week in Pakistan scouting out the land and praying into possibilities of future ministry for Pakistan. I felt that the Lord had revealed that I should go with him on this initial trip to support his vision and calling.

This brief period back in missions will actually end up costing around $2860. This includes staff fees and groceries while staffing in DC and visa costs, plane tickets, ground fees, and other miscellaneous costs for outreach. Prayer is probably the most important aspect of this trip. Pakistan and the surrounding Islamic nations are very volatile and especially hostile towards Christianity. But a practical way you can support me in missions is through finances.

Please prayerfully consider supporting me financially and in prayer. As I go to the Middle East, a region of the world that is difficult to travel to, your support allows the kingdom of God to advance in such countries as Tajikistan and Pakistan.   The link to donate can be found on the Financial Partnership page.

Thank you for your consideration and prayers.

Be blessed,

Sam

Back in Action

It has been about a year since my last post and it is because I have not been a part of a ministry for the last year.  After the end of Circuit Riders outreach to Washington D.C. I ended up finding work.  Since the end of September, I have been working with a 16 year old boy with cerebral palsy. Everyday I would do a home visit and care take.  He had a certified nursing assistant so I had very little care taking to do but I would take him for walks, take him to the pool, and just making sure he didn't get himself into any trouble.

As I was working, I decided to further my education and started attending the local community college in Frederick, Maryland.  I took 5 courses for the spring semester and I had about 22 credits that transferred in from my previous college.  The semester ended recently and I am happy to say that I was able to finish with high marks.  I have another year of community college left to graduate with an AA in Government and Politics which will allow me to transfer over to a 4-year school after.

This is a condensed version of my last year but at the same time, it wasn't as eventful as when I was traveling.  In between semesters, I decided to rejoin YWAM but not in Kona.  YWAM has many different bases around the United States as well as the world.  The YWAM group that I have joined is in Washington D.C.  They run a house of prayer, known as Washington House of Prayer, as well as do ministry around the city.  They are located in Anacostia which is a ghetto area of DC.

The first day I joined, I dove straight into ministry.  We had a team meeting and a prayer time and I went to do something called Kids Konnection.  A woman runs this ministry and does something called sidewalk Sunday school.  She has modified a truck to become a stage to minister to children in the neighborhood doing activities similar to a Sunday school but outside.  For the past couple weeks YWAM DC partnered with this woman to help her do mini preaching to children. I had a minute segment talking about being "it" for God when we don't always want to be.

Hopefully this update will express the last little part of my life enough.  More to come soon.