One wild week

Five weeks from now, we will host a group of 51 high school students from Missouri for their spring break mission trip - what we call Mission Adventures. This will be the fourth of such groups we have hosted, but if I took and added the numbers of the previous three groups, it still would not equal the group coming in March! And on top of that, at this point, we have 4 staff that will be here to work with it! We have our work cut out for us. We are currently looking for volunteers to help, so if you're not doing anything March 4th - 9th...

But for as much work as it requires, I am very excited about this opportunity. For one, we create an atmosphere, through prayer, teachings from the Word, worship, and various activities, for the students to encounter God during that week. We also schedule ministry, so the students are active in sharing their faith with others, challenging them to live according to God's calling. The stories I have, the amazing changes that have happened in students lives because of Mission Adventures...Well, let's just say I am really anticipating God will do cool things during that week in March.

For a new laptop:

I am currently raising money for a new laptop. I've had my current computer for more than 4 years, and I think it's time for a new one. A new computer would be very useful for work, and I could use it for personal things as well. Thanks to the generosity of family and friends, I already have a significant portion of what I need.

For a laptop with hardware and software that I'm looking at, I still need about $700. If you are interested in contributing, you can write a check out to YWAM Ozarks, and send it to me at:
Josh Levin
7119 Mountain View Drive
Ozark, AR 72949

YWAM Ozarks is a non-profit organization, so for any donation you send, you will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Thanks!

A week with John

A week, or rather, a couple years! I taught the Gospel of John for our final week of SBS, but prior to that I spent a couple years, off and on, studying the book. It is such a rich book, and I enjoyed learning it as I prepared to teach.

As I was preparing my notes a week before my teaching, I felt like I suddenly hit a wall. I sat staring at my computer. It was as if I had eaten so much of something, I was sick of it. I didn't want to look at it, touch it, or think about it. It was so strange. So I left if for a few days, and when I sat back down at my computer again I was ready to type.

But it went well, I taught for 3 days, hitting on the differences between John and the other Gospels, and why so many differences (did you know that in John, Jesus only performs 7 miracles, and of those 7, only 2 are mentioned in the others Gospels?). I touched on the 7 I Am statements, which you can read about in my previous blog entry, and also on Jesus' last moments with his disciples, which I believe may be the 4 most important chapters in the Bible.

Anyway, it was a blast. Read John and tell me what you think!

I Am...

Who said these things?

I am the bread of life.
I am the light of the world.
I am the gate.
I am the good shepherd.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
I am the vine.

Well, if you guessed Jesus...you're right! And we get all those great sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of John. We are in the final week of our New Testament School of Biblical Studies, and I am teaching the book of John, which means I have spent countless hours studying the book in preparation for teaching, and have read through it more times than I remember. It has been exciting reading it, meditating on it, reading commentaries about it, and reflecting on it as I put my notes together. What stands out to me more than anything is how the life of Jesus impacts and transforms people. And if we don't believe in Him, we miss out on the life that God offers us. It's hard to put into words. Anyway, I am excited for this opportunity to study and grow in the Word of God, and then to teach it to others.

Merry Christmas New York!

I attended The Redeemer Presbyterian Church one Sunday while our team was on a two-week mission trip spanning Christmas and New Year's in New York City. The preacher, discussing the conditions of Jesus' birth, and His hometown being Hick-ville Nazareth, commented on the opposite ways God and man work. Culture begins in the major centers - big cities such as New York, and flows out from there to the fringes. God, however, when He begins a work of renewal, begins at the fringes and works in toward the major centers. Such was the case with Jesus. Such was the case of God sending a team of 17 people from Ozark, Arkansas to New York City, New York.


I found myself staring up at set of window blinds needing repair. I could stand on the cast-iron heat register to reach it and fix it. The problem, however, was that a 6-foot high dresser and a very cluttered computer desk opposed me. In between the two was about 12 inches of room to squeeze through, step onto the three-foot high heater, and then slide behind the desk to where I could reach the blinds. A feat requiring a skilled gymnast. One wrong move and I would knock over the monitor, collapse the desk, and send papers and miscellaneous objects everywhere! Our team spent two days helping a ministry in New York City that works with Muslim immigrants from West Africa. Their director had just moved into a small apartment with his family of 6, but was also trying to run a very under-staffed organization. They do great work, reaching Muslims immigrants (who come from countries closed to the Gospel), but stays so busy that they have little if any time to do simple things like unpack, or fix a broken blind. So our group had the privilege serving them in very practical ways, freeing them to pursue sharing the gospel.

During our two weeks, we spent much time praying for the city, staffed prayer stations in Grand Central Station, sang Christmas carols on the Staten Island Ferry, served a meal at a soup kitchen, passed out drug-free magnets, and finished our trip by passing out 2007 Gospels of John to the crowds pressing to get to Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Thanks to all of you who were praying for our trip!