Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 5/19/2012
Coming soon to a blog near you will be about this crazy adventure that I am on called squad leading. Before I talk about my role/what God is teaching me, let me introduce to you my new team. First we have the wonderful Rachel Williams and the courageous Ben Mullett. We are as some may call us the three musketeers. Some have thought us to be ninjas, while others have thought us to pirates. You will have to see for yourself what name fits us best but for now this video best describes us on our days off.
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 3/23/2012
Being in Haiti and Dominican Republic I have noticed that ministry is not what I am use to. I like getting to know the person I am working with or when I do run into someone I want to know something about them before I talk about the Gospel. Since I don’t speak the language in Haiti and Dominican Republic I can’t just go up to someone and share. Even if we have a translator it becomes a difficult task to share the translator between five others. I have had to rely on the few words that I have learned but nonverbal communication becomes your fall back when trying to talk.
I felt that I could not be myself as we went and did door to door ministry or just walking around the village in the Dominican Republic. I could not stop thinking that if only I paid more attention in high school during Spanish class. If I did then I would have no problem speaking Spanish and could do ministry everywhere I walked. I prayed about it day and night that God would just grant me the ability to just speak and hear Spanish as if it was in English. God had to remind me that those thoughts about not being able to do ministry or that I need to speak the language was from the enemy.
God had to keep telling me that I did not need to worry about speaking the language. It’s not always about how good a speaker you are or how much experience you have of sharing the gospel. It’s all about how you live out your faith. This has become more evident here in other countries because when I worked in Haiti I became friends with the workers and got to tell them about the World Race. God blessed me and I was given joy when they started to call me friend and brother.
God has been showing me that I don’t need to have my focus on how many people I talk to or needing to know every language. If I seek Christ with all my heart and it’s my main focus people will come to talk. During Jesus’s ministry he always had a crowd following him and were intrigued how different he lived and spoke. People are attracted to the love that was flowing from him and because of the attraction people were willing to listen to his teachings. This revelation that was shared with me has freed me from so much. I no longer worry about having to speak the language of the countries that I will be visiting. With my new focus God has increased a desire in me to learn more and has filled my little brain with so many ideas. I don’t even know where to begin but that is part of the fun.
It seems to be the talk of the town about what I will be doing after the World Race and I have no idea. I do know is that I will seek the Lord and give 110% in any job I obtain. Since I am seeking the Christ I will still be able to do ministry in any job I have and change the culture that way. I want to challenge you and in this that whatever your job may be at a desk, yard work, housewife, construction or at factories seek Christ as your up most priority. In turn you will be changing lives as people see you living out your faith and wanting to know why you are this way. Over time you will have changed the floor you work on or the block you live on and start a movement that will change the world.
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 3/2/2012
Here in Haiti we are working with Mission of Hope International. Part of our job working here with MOHI is to help with the construction of their new two story school building and church. Right now we have been spending hours upon hours in a bucket brigade passing buckets of concrete. Every day I would come back to our compound covered in concrete and have to jump into the ocean just to somewhat wash my clothes so they can be used the next day.
There are days that I am just in a bad mood and don’t want to work. I sometimes wish I could just get sick so I can sleep longer and let my body heal. In the mornings, I have to ask God to fill me up with love and joy so that I can share it with the workers and be an example of Christ. As my fingers start bleeding from the constant rubbing of concrete I have to remind myself that the joy of the Lord is my strength. Thank goodness for band aids and Neosporin to help protect my fingers.
The building for MOHI when completed will be a light on a hill that won’t be hidden. As you drive from either the North or the South to grand goave you will see the massive building. This building is a great a light to Haiti and an answer to help bring the light of Christ to Haiti.
Sometimes we miss the big picture when taking on a big project and just focus on the imitate task at hand the whole time. This has happened with me since being here because I can’t share the gospel with people in the town. This just makes me frustrated and feels as if I am not helping or doing my part in the great commission. God has been showing me that even from the compound we are living in that I am furthering the kingdom in Haiti. With every nail and every bucket of concrete that I pour furthers the kingdom. By the time the building is done future generations of children will be given a great education and will grow up learning about the Lord.
As we go about our day let’s not worry about being insufficient or not doing our part of advancing the kingdom. With every tithe or donation you are helping the kingdom and also being the light at your job makes all the difference. When we seek the Lord our light becomes brighter and people around us are drawn to us. Let’s continue to let our light shine bright and not forget that we are part of the bigger picture whether or not we know it.
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 2/23/2012
Thank you for being so generous in giving and I am just blown away from the amount of generosity that has been shown to me. When I saw that I was at $10,000 I thought I was dreaming. I had to pinch myself to see if I was awake and then I check my eyes to see if they were not playing tricks on me. God blessed me so much and all I could do was to fall on my knees and thank God.
Living in unity with my team and my squad has been giving me a new perspective on what Church is and what it means to be part of the body of Christ. Living in this body has shown me what community really is and how we need to depend on each other in our times of need. As my family and brothers and sisters in Christ you have been showing me how the early church was supporting Paul on his missionary journeys. I am now seeing how his heart of thankfulness and that he did not want to be a burden to the church. But he was grateful for the help that he received and their willingness to serve to advance the kingdom.
When I get the opportunity to check my account and see that a donation has been made I am in awe and my faith increases and so does my picture for how big God is. I am not saying that my faith and image of God only increases when I get money but it just adds a new perspective of how God is moving for me. He continues to show how I don’t need to worry but to just trust in His promise.
I do need more support to get to the next deadline. The next deadline is March 31st and I need to be at $11,000. I ask of you if you would be able to donate again to me or save up a few dollars to support me. If you like you can also share with your friends who might be encouraged by what God is doing. Prayer would also be much appreciated and if you can tell or send my blog to everyone you know. I just want as many people to see Christ through my journey and in hopes plant some seeds through your help.
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 2/10/2012
Here in Los Montacitos there is a small Compassion International building where kids receive all kinds of support through the donations of people all over the world. Every Monday and Tuesday the kids attend classes to learn about the Bible and are given tools like learning how to use a computer. We have been teaching English since we arrived here, with the help of our awesome translator, Ronnie, who is an excellent English teacher and has been teaching for years. They also get two meals on those days and since we sometimes get their leftovers I can tell you that it is very yummy.
These kids are just full of life and joy and despite not having many possessions they make the most out of things they find. They can take a leaf and turn it into a propeller that spins when they run. I have had many fun times running around with the kids with our little propellers.
There is this one family that no one really wants to be near. It’s not because they smell but because their family life is not great. The family lives in the kitchen of an unfinished school building. No one wants to give this family land or a house to live in because they fight so much. One night as we slept in our tents we could hear the parents fight from 10pm to 6am. It was crazy because I went to bed hearing them fight and woke up to them fighting.
The family has two boys and a girl who are not in the Compassion classes. Jonky, who is 13, disrespects his mom by yelling at her and shoots rocks at his sister. Julissa, who is 10, takes care of the younger brother, Yonaji. One day the parents went to a presidential campaign rally and left the kids on their own for about 10 hours. We felt so bad and wished we could have feed them some food. The poor kids wear the same cloths every day and they don’t even fit the kids. The sister Julissa, and Yonaji, the younger brother, always come to hang out with us Americanos every day.
Yonaji and I have such a tight bond that he does not like it when the other boys his age want my attention or climb on me. He always seems to show up when we are doing a bible study and when we are doing our feedback. When I sit there during feedback, he comes and sits on my lap for a while before he gets bored and leaves. Sometimes it can be a distraction, but I can’t turn him down because I want to show him love and attention that he might not get from his father. We have been feeding Julissa our left overs and just watch her scarf it down like she has not eaten in days.
Sometimes we can get so busy and caught up in our life that we don’t make time for the ones who matter. It’s easy to get frustrated and turn children down but Jesus made sure to find time for children. Mark 10:13-16 just speaks to me and makes me want to change the way I view children. I challenge you to make sure to make time for children in your life because you might be the only Jesus they meet. Also if you can pray for this family that the community will continue to reach out to them and show them the love of Jesus.
Your brother in Christ,
Brett
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 1/31/2012
Have you ever had a computer, or a car, or a cell phone breakdown? Or maybe a shower when there was no more hot water left? Isn’t it amazing how much we take those things for granted? And isn’t it sad how angry we can get when things breaks down and suddenly we feel like our life is miserable?
Now imagine living without electricity or running water every day? That’s what life is like for people in the mountains of Los Montacitos, Dominican Republic. It’s a peaceful little town that reminds me of an old western movie, where you roll into town and everyone greets you with a smile and a hello.
And even though there’s no public transportation, it was cool to see how people share the few vehicles they have so that everyone can transport their chickens, fruit, coffee beans, green beans, etc. It was really cool to see since a lot of Americans nowadays are so selfish with “their” things that you rarely see people share with one another, especially when it comes to personal space. On one trip there must have been about 30 people piled up in one truck and no one even cared about being so close to each other.
As we started doing house-to-house evangelism, we were amazed at how welcoming people were. They greeted us and provided us with chairs, offered us juice or coffee (we always chose coffee because they make the best coffee in the entire Dominican Republic), and they even offered us what little food they had. It was awesome to see how selfless everyone was because that’s not something you always see back home.
After they served us we got to talk with them about their family and when they came to know the Lord. Then after we prayed with them and thanked them for everything, we were amazed at how grateful they were just to have us spend a little bit of time with them. It was mind-blowing to see how these people could take time out of their busy day and share what little they had with us and yet still be so thankful just to be of service to us.
Sadly, I think a lot of Americans have lost that sense of service to others. It seems as though people have somehow forgotten that America was founded on community and service to one another. After all, if it hadn’t been for the Native Americans who helped out the early European settlers, they would’ve starved to death. And not only that, but those early settlers had to work together just to continue surviving year after year.
And if our Founding Fathers hadn’t worked together and made great sacrifices for the greater good, the United States of America wouldn’t even have been born, much less survive for over 200 years. But somewhere along the way, some people seem to have lost their sense of service to each other. And even worse, many seem to have forgotten Christ’s call to serve, which we see so clearly in Matthew 23:11. Christmas seems to have become the only time that people really serve or give these days. But when we really think about it, the Christmas story is only meant to be the beginning, not the end.
So today I encourage you to do some serious reflection and join me in asking: “Am I truly serving God, or my own desires?” “What am I holding back?” “In what ways am I still not letting Jesus be Lord of my whole life?”
I pray that you open up your heart to Christ and allow him to break whatever chains might be holding you down because he died to set you free.
Grace and peace,
Brett
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 1/5/2012
Back in October, I wrote a blog titled “Under Construction: Part 1” in which I talked about my experiences at our World Race training camp in Atlanta. Since it’s been a few months, here’s a refresher of that blog:
As I was walking downtown Atlanta waiting for my plane, I saw some construction on the sidewalk. As I walked through the construction and watched cars go around the barrels I soon realized that this applies to my life. I was under construction. God had been removing the old, cracked sidewalk and replacing it with brand new cement that contains no cracks. Let me explain what happened.
While at this training camp, I was not sure what was going to happen. I knew God was going to do great things but not like this. It was like a typical training camp where you had worship and speakers talk about what we need to do to get ready for the 11 months. One thing I did not count on was the Holy Spirit doing amazing things that you would think are just not possible. I saw God remove years of hurt and pain in peoples’ lives. He poured down love and grace to all His children. Freedom was just not a word anymore. It was something you could see and feel. There was no more weight holding down everyone. I have seen hundreds of people worship but not like this. This was a unique kind of worship. It’s the kind of worship you read about in the Bible when all the angels are praising the Lord.
I personally saw the weight come off of me. I had been dragging my baggage of unworthiness, lust and self image for far too long. During worship, a gentleman placed his hand on my chest and prayed over me speaking truth into my life. Once we were done, I could not feel the weight anymore. It was like I could jump to the moon now. Later on we prayed and were prayed upon for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives. When this started, I could feel where the man prayed for me earlier just start to expand. It went throughout my body and the air was different. I mean different by it being thicker and a different taste then regular air. Look for part 2 and I will go explain more of what the Holy Spirit has done at training camp.
Now that training camp is over I now see everything in a different light. I am free from my chains and the fear is gone. Freedom is not just a word to me anymore. It is something I can feel and see. I have for once truly seen and experience God’s love and grace in my life. The old pavement has been removed and I have been replaced with a clean slate. Ready for anything. Now I am ready and nothing is going to hold me back from sharing the Gospel and Christ love to the world.
As promised, here is a closer look at some of what I witnessed the Holy Spirit doing in our midst at our training camp:
The last worship session of our training camp was like this huge celebration of God where everyone was dancing and glorifying God with their whole heart. Suddenly, a man who was working the slides started to pray, and then turned and started praying over me. He proceeded to tell me that “God does not want you to pray for simple things, but to pray for the desire of your heart. Even if it sounds crazy just ask.” I was blown away by this so I asked God to show me the inner depths of His heart, to be a light to others, and make disciples throughout the world.
After worship there was one last talk which offered a lot of insight into listening to God’s voice. During the session, everyone had an opportunity to share anything God had placed on their heart and at one point, my friend Ben told me that he felt the Lord speaking about my prayer. He said “This is just the beginning of God showing His love to you and there is more to come.” He also told me that “a bright light will be shown bringing life.” When I heard that I was shocked and speechless!
Since training camp I’ve had lots of opportunity to grow in my understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit and suffering. My grandma has had cancer for five years and may not have much longer so she wanted the whole family to see her for Christmas. When I talked to her she told me that she is so tired and has no energy to do anything but the Holy Spirit has given her joy. The Spirit has also helped her share Christ at the hospital during treatments or at appointments. It amazes me how suffering can actually be a blessing. When we look at what Christ did for us a joy overcomes us and everything seems trivial.
As I continue my study into suffering and have lots of long discussions over this topic, God continues to show up. He expands my mind and broadens my views on suffering and how the American dream is so fake. I’ve come to realize that not only am I under construction now, but always will be, until I’m called back home. I realize that living under a constant state of construction may not sound like fun, but when we keep our minds focused on all that Christ has endured for us, it seems more like a blessing because we know that we are being transformed into his image (2 Corinthians 3:18).
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 11/4/2011
After training camp, a few of us were given a ride by one of the amazing ladies from our squad. Once we made it to the airport, I checked my bag in and headed for the train that takes you downtown. When I arrived at the station called ‘Five Points’ I headed down to the visitor’s center, where I was given a map of the area. When I saw there was an aquarium nearby, I just had to go check it out because it was the world’s largest aquarium.
As I was walking down Luckie Street, looking around for a place to get some food, a man came up to me and asked if I was lost and needed some help. When I told him I was looking for some food and heading to the aquarium, he offered to show me around since he was heading that way anyways. As we were walking, I introduced myself and found out his name was Mike. He asked me what I was doing just walking around so I explained how I had just finished training for the World Race and told him all about the details of the World Race. He told me that he was really excited for me to go see the world and mentioned that he had traveled a lot back in the day too.
As we continued to talk, I noticed that he had a limp in his right leg so I asked him about it and he told me it was from an old football injury that caused him to lose his scholarship. As Mike continued to open up to me, he talked to me about his six kids that live with him on the streets. I was amazed by that because you could not tell from his friendly and positive attitude that he was homeless. I asked Mike if I could pray for him and he not only agreed, he also showed me the Bible he reads daily so he doesn’t go crazy on the streets. He also told me how he shares love to others when he gets into a fight or someone robs him for his money or food. Mike said he just tells them that there is another way and that he loves them even if they hurt him. Before we said goodbye, Mike even made sure to tell me all the streets to avoid and said that if I ever need anything, just find him and he’d be glad to help.
While I was flying back home, I sat next to a lady named Becky. After talking for two hours and sharing our stories, she now considers me her grandchild, and she is very proud of me for going around the world to help others. Becky told me that she is going to follow me online so she can tell everyone else about all her grandchild’s adventures.
God just blows me away when He places people in our lives like that. I am so glad that I met these amazing people and was able to impact on their lives and have them impact my life as well. Next time you are sitting on a bus, a plane or a waiting room, don’t be afraid to start up a conversation. You never know what may happen and what kind of impact you may have. God may have something unbelievably special in store for you, if you will just take that first step.
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 10/28/2011
Once I found out my team, it was time to start bonding and creating unity. We set out for a couple of hours to start our bonding process but who knew that it would turn out to be one of the most memorable days of our lives. So this is the blog that we made together as a team. We had only 10 minutes to post this in order to get us ready for some internet cafe that have 10 minute time limits. I failed to get mine up but, we were able to get two members of my team a post. This is the story of my team and along with a pic of my amazing, Godly team.
“As our team was listening to the other team members share their stories, we realized our time was different and unique compared to the others. Instead of the focus being on reaching out to others, God gave us the ability to reach into vulnerability and openness in our own team.
When we initially found out our teams, there were mixed emotions. We felt randomly placed and were afraid of how we would interact with one another. Individually we thought high of each other but did not know how we’d work together as a team. In our team outing we ignored our feelings and went on sharing our stories. Eventually it broke. One of our team members exposed the honesty we all desired to expose. Her vulnerability allowed each of us to express our feelings.
Through this moment we learned that before we can minister to other people we needed to be open with ourselves, operating in our strengths and recognizing our weaknesses. After exposing ourselves openly, we all felt a difference within ourselves and were able to communicate better with each other. By God breaking down our walls, He will use us together to reach people with His love and break their walls down. We look forward to His hand using us to bless others and minister His heart to the nations!”
Top left: Rebecca, Michael, Brett, Christina
Bottom left: Keeley, Marie
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Posted in General Posts by Brett McConnell on 10/25/2011
As I was walking downtown Atlanta waiting for my plane, I saw some construction on the sidewalk. As I walked through the construction and watched cars go around the barrels I soon realized that this applies to my life. I was under construction. God had been removing the old, cracked sidewalk and replacing it with brand new cement that contains no cracks. Let me explain what happened.
While at this training camp, I was not sure what was going to happen. I knew God was going to do great things but not like this. It was like a typical training camp where you had worship and speakers talk about what we need to do to get ready for the 11 months. One thing I did not count on was the Holy Spirit doing amazing things that you would think are just not possible. I saw God remove years of hurt and pain in peoples’ lives. He poured down love and grace to all His children. Freedom was just not a word anymore. It was something you could see and feel. There was no more weight holding down everyone. I have seen hundreds of people worship but not like this. This was a unique kind of worship. It’s the kind of worship you read about in the Bible when all the angels are praising the Lord.
I personally saw the weight come off of me. I had been dragging my baggage of unworthiness, lust and self image for far too long. During worship, a gentleman placed his hand on my chest and prayed over me speaking truth into my life. Once we were done, I could not feel the weight anymore. It was like I could jump to the moon now. Later on we prayed and were prayed upon for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives. When this started, I could feel where the man prayed for me earlier just start to expand. It went throughout my body and the air was different. I mean different by it being thicker and a different taste then regular air. Look for part 2 and I will go explain more of what the Holy Spirit has done at training camp.
Now that training camp is over I now see everything in a different light. I am free from my chains and the fear is gone. Freedom is not just a word to me anymore. It is something I can feel and see. I have for once truly seen and experience God’s love and grace in my life. The old pavement has been removed and I have been replaced with a clean slate. Ready for anything. Now I am ready and nothing is going to hold me back from sharing the Gospel and Christ love to the world.
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