“I am a sinner” (Jesus the Tattoo Artist)

I recently had an unexpected (yet MUCH needed) personal encounter with Jesus.

 

The cool thing about this encounter is the location in which it took place and whom Jesus used to meet me in this experience.  Dare I be brave and say that it consisted of being outside of church walls, and through a person who looked like anything but a pastor?

Straight up- Jesus met me in a tattoo shop in a small, Mennonite town.  Jesus spoke to me through a pointed bearded, tattooed arms, multiple piercings on his ears, motorcycle riding, self-acclaimed “I am a sinner”, tattoo artist.  Wait…did I forget to mention that this same self-acclaimed sinner was now, more importantly, of royal blood? A Son, bought for with a price, of the Lord Most High.  This same man was a Jesus-loving, dedicated husband whom God used to speak more Biblical truth into my life than I’ve heard for a while.  He didn’t speak from a pulpit and he was most certainly not wearing his ‘Sunday best’ (yet still totally professional) but what he shared was raw and real.  Open and vulnerable, not hidden behind a mask or a fake smile.  It is true folks!  IT IS possible!  

Simply put, I was there to walk in, get my second tattoo (with hopefully a limited amount of pain in the process) and walk out.  Jesus had something else in mind.  He wanted to ‘wake me up’ through this tattoo artist.  Jesus wanted to remind me that we are all sinners but that doesn’t change just how much He (Jesus) loves me, and you, despite how we try to hide behind our ‘perfectly sinless’ lives (ya’ll know what I am talking about). Reality is, I am a sinner.  Yet one of the cool things about who Jesus is, is that He still cause me ‘child’.  He still calls me ‘daughter of the King Most High’.  He still relentlessly, lovingly pursues me even when I try and push Him away when I fail to see His Goodness and faithfulness in my own life.  He still straight up loves me regardless of how messy my life is.  If that isn’t a display of love and grace…I don’t know what is.  Thank you JESUS for the work You did on the cross for a sinner like me.

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As strange as it sounds, I cannot remember a time in recent weeks that I felt as much peace as I did while I was allowing my body to be poked time and time again.  I found myself becoming mesmerized as I watched the ink flow through the tool and the design begin to take shape just above my inner right ankle.  A (base) design that started off as a ‘lucky find’ on Pinterest but that has now (thanks to the artistic skills of my tattoo artist) become a tattoo uniquely my own.  

A tattoo that holds scriptural truth from Micah 6:8 that changed the direction/focus of my life when I first heard it during my first year of Bible College.  A tattoo that captures Africa, a place/continent that challenged what I thought I knew and understood about Micah 6:8.  The same continent that also ‘rocked’ my faith foundation as I began to discover a living, active God through the lives of the African people and culture.  My times/experience in Africa, would only be the start of my adventures with Jesus around the world.  An experience I will forever be grateful for.   

My tattoo includes a last minute decision to add a single strand of wheat and was done in honour of my late Grandpa.  My grandpa spent his entire life farming and providing the base ingredient that would feed more mouths of people than I will ever know.  That same single strand of wheat, has now taken on dual meaning as it also represents scriptural truth found in Luke 10:2.  This verse coincides with my inner desire that God will use me in HIS harvest, while living out Micah 6:8, regardless of where I am in the world.  Finally, the broken/incomplete lines that make up the globe, represents the brokenness and pain in this world.  Brokenness and pain that will one day be fully restored by Jesus and the Biblical truth found in Revelation 21:4.

For an added, unexpected bonus, my new tattoo will now have another meaningful moment behind it.  A forever reminder of a brief 1.5 hour powerful encounter with Jesus.  An encounter with Jesus through a pointed bearded, tattooed arms, multiple piercings on his ears, motorcycle riding, self-acclaimed “I am a sinner”.  Yet also a dedicated husband and chosen son, who was bought with a price, of the Lord Most High…a Jesus-loving tattoo artist.

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“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8

^“He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” Luke 10:2

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4

Once Upon a Time- {How 1 month in India changed my life}

"How did I become to so blessed to grow up in the country that I did? How is it that, what I can pack in 80 gallons worth of backpack space, is worth more than what these kids will ever see in their lifetime?”  It feels just like yesterday, that I nodded in silent agreement, at loss for anything else, at my squad mate’s question.  She voiced what we were all thinking.  It was the same thoughts, questions and conversations with God, that I had each and every day as I walked passed the shanty village, to and from Grace Home; our sight of ministry for the month. 

If I am being really honest with you, India was the one month on the World Race that I was NOT looking forward to.  In fact, I will even go as far and say that I was dreading each and every moment of it.  Nonetheless, it is in India that I found myself in October 2013. 

Despite the fact that India has become one of those months that I don’t find myself talking a whole lot about, I am continuing to realize how perfectly timed it was that God placed it into my life when He did.  3 years later and the impact remains. 

It is in India, where I ate more rice and curry than I ever thought possible and it is in India that I TRULY discovered my love for authentic chai tea regardless of the sweat pouring off my face in the +40 degrees Celsius temperatures.  It is in India, where I (we) aimlessly followed our fearless (female) contacts through a literal wall of fire set ablaze across the street (after having been yelled at in a foreign language, by locals on motorbikes). It is in India, that teammates and I hopped on a Tuk Tuk and told the driver to “take us on an adventure”, all for only 10 cents. It is in India, that I learned that Larry the cucumber was right-not only does everyone WANT a water buffalo…everyone HAS MULTIPLE water buffalos! It is in India, where team mates and I unknowingly ‘crashed’ an Indian wedding.  It is in India, where I discovered that “OFC” was the next best thing to KFC- just don’t ask what the “O” stood for…and, thanks to India, I can officially take “survive an international newsworthy typhoon” OFF my bucket list.  Ironically enough, it is also because of my experience IN India, that led me to even consider the current profession I am in (direct support worker with adults with Intellectual/physical disabilities); I truly believe that my time in India, has given me an unique understanding/perspective (and passion) for my job each and every day.

More importantly; it was in India, that I truly began to become aware of the spiritual world around me.  It is in India, where the Holy Spirit began to make His presence known in my life.  It is in India, where a squad-mate spoke a bold Truth INTO my life; thus challenging me and giving me a different perspective on who I was.  It is in India, where rooftop worship became one of my highlights of the entire 11 months and sleeping in my one person tent-took one a whole new meaning.

It is in India, that I fell in love with the ‘lowest of the low’ on India’s Caste system; (special need) orphans and widows and it is in India, that God showed me what it truly meant to give up everything for Him through women younger than me, foster mom’s Hannah, Sarah, and Jenny.  Young women Natasha and Abby also gave up their lives in North America, to serve Jesus in India.  Shout out to all you ladies-thank you for being an inspiration. In India; God furthered showed me my passion FOR those with HIV/AIDS through Nora, a young girl with a world of opportunities before her.  India is where I met “Wendy”, a young lady who suffered a stroke at a young age which lead to Cerebral palsy; but it is her gorgeous smile, incredible strength and a bold uniqueness that God has used to change my life.  This Wendy also happened to share the same name of my own auntie Wendy- another lady with a story uniquely her own but who shares that same beautiful smile, incredible strength and a bold uniqueness that God has also used numerous of times within my life.  Through both of these ladies, God joined to totally different worlds and used them both equally to begin to teach me the power of (physical) healing power within Him.

I don’t know why God allowed me to be born into the country that I have been.  As I walked by the shanty villages, the thought of ‘that so easily could have been me’ wasn’t too far out of my mind.  Although India was FAR from being an ‘easy’ month on every level, what I experienced was NOTHING compared to what the locals live through each and every day.  Truth is, I honestly don’t know if the young naked child who held my hand every day on the walk to Grace Home, is still alive.  I don’t know if her home consisting of scrap metal, wood, cardboard and anything else random, withstood the latest downfall of rain.  I don’t know the last time she had a bath in clean water, or even DRANK clean, non-toxic water.  In North America; law suits would quickly be set up and fancy lawyers would be pointing fingers at one another because of human right violations…but for this little girl, and those like her around the globe who I’ve had the true honour of walking with and holding, if even for a moment, I can only pray.   I can only pray to God above that, above all else, He will hold them and never let go.  Believing that one day, God will rise them up and place them right next to Him in the eternal realm of Glory.  After all, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to children such as these.

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To learn more about organization I worked along side; click here 

Once upon a time- Persecution (Romania)

God keeps ‘taking me back’ to Drăgănești-Olt, Romania and three years later, I am only now learning torealize the impact that was made upon my spiritual life, while there.  Truly, it is the place that began to open my eyes to the ‘unseen supernatural’ world that is around us every day. 

*Now, I feel as though I should also place a disclaimer.  When I mention the ‘unseen supernatural world’, I am only referring to that which is talked about throughout scripture, nothing more.  As a point of reference; I would like to highlight Ephesians 6:10-20 but take note of verse 12 specifically.  This is the world that God truly began to open up my eyes to while in Romania.  I pray that Grace and understanding will fall upon you as you continue to read.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

I would like to share a story with you that involved myself, team-mates, our contacts and local police authority.

September 2013

I remember the day as though it was yesterday.  After spending another morning soaked in prayer, worship and meditation our ‘mission’ for the day was to visit a nearby town and hand out tracks.  Handing out “tracks” is one way in which the local church evangelizes.  The goal was simple.  Break into groups of 2-3 people and go door to door in the village handing these tracks out.  We were too knock on each door and engage the homeowner in conversation (if they were home and open to having a conversation), or place a track at the door if there was no reply and move onto the next homestead.  

Simple and harmless right?

I would think so, however, I have neglected to mention a few key political aspects.  In Romania, you are free to follow Jesus.  You are free to believe what you would like to believe.  However, when it came down to evangelism, local authority (police/ mayor etc) had final say as to it being allowed or not.  Basically, you could end up in jail if you were caught evangelizing in a town/community that deemed it illegal.  

Not so simple anymore is it?

Keeping this in mind, we piled into vans and collectively headed out.  As we drove, I wrestled.  I bargained with God and I pleaded to Him to simply keep me safe.  I am not sure if my contacts or my team could tell how nervous I was about what we were about to do.  Nervous is actually an understatement.  I was flipping scared…Like a broken record, the thought of ‘I could literally get thrown into jail simply for talking about Jesus’ continually filled my brain.  Guilt filled me, as I recalled countless of conversations with friends/family back home in Canada in which I proclaimed that I would ‘die for my faith’. Yet here I was, afraid to simply hand out tracks at the thought of it potentially landing me in jail.  I was so out of my comfort zone and we hadn’t even started.  With the final words of “have fun!” from our contacts, we were dropped off in the middle of the village; with half the teams going right while the rest of the teams took the left side of the village.  Before I knew it, I was walking up to the first house whether I was ready or not.  Truth be told, I don’t remember much of actually handing tracks out or the response from the locals.  It was like time had stopped.  Perhaps what happened next, is why I don’t remember much of anything else.

The group I was with, had run out of tracks and so we headed to our central point for more to keep going.  It was there that we were informed of what was going on by a fellow squad member.  We were asked to stop what we were doing and to pray.  Remember how I mentioned earlier about how the local authority had the final word in evangelism being legal or not?  Turns out, the local authority (police and town council/mayor) of the village we were in, had established a law AGAINST street evangelism.  Basically, we were all committing a ‘crime’, punishable with jail time, by simply handing out pieces of paper that included the Jesus’ work on the cross (aka Tracks).  I think my temperature must have risen about 25 degrees. 

Information was limited about our squad-mates.  We knew that the group of about 10-20, who had gone the opposite direction than my group did, were being held at the local police station.  To our knowledge at the time; local authority was debating what to do with them.  There was talk of simply giving them a fine and releasing them but there was also word about jail time as the mayor wanted to ‘make an example’ of them. By this point, those of us who were able to, were literally on our hands and knees praying.  Not only were we praying but we prayed with the authority in Jesus’ name.  An authority ABOVE ALL authority.  We knew God is LORD and that HE would prevail.  We knew, well I was honestly learning ‘on the fly’, and that our battle wasn’t against flesh or blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Our contacts were actively involved in trying to settle this quickly (while still holding to the Truth of God’s Word).  They knew of the ‘battle’ that laid ahead as they had personally experienced this form of persecution before.  However, my admiration/respect for my contacts, grew as we got word that they refused to ‘back down’.  They were sticking to what they believed, trusting that God would provide what was needed, even if that meant going straight to the USA embassy in the capital. (*side note, I was the only Canadian on my squad so those being held were all American and because of this, I was personally told to try and stay further back from everything-but to continue to pray).

Not only did God provide a supernatural sense of peace to us (and those being held), I truly believed that He opened the eyes of the police and council in a supernatural way.  Before long, EVERYONE was released and we were ALLOWED to KEEP handing out tracks.  We were told later, by team-mates who sat at the police station unsure of what laid before them; of an incredible peace that they felt throughout the ordeal.  A peace that they could only explain came to them through our prayers.  They told of us unbelieving police officers who ridiculed and mocked them at first but who later asked for tracks for themselves and for their families because they too, wanted to know of this JESUS.  They wanted to know of whom these young people were willing to go to jail for!!  Talk about the power in Jesus’ name alone! What satan deemed for evil, GOD magnified into glorious POWER.  Darkness was forced into the light.  Truth became known and God’s Kingdom on earth was established further. 

God would later use an Indian missionary couple in Cambodia; to further teach me about PRAYING FOR persecution among our churches (especially the North American churches) today.  God taught me about trusting in Him in ALL situations; through a Filipino pastor couple confident that God would provide for them, a green roof for their church simply because God is a ‘God of colour’.  God would also reveal to me more of the power of the supernatural realm through a South African believer passionate about early morning prayer and meditation and bringing God’s Word through the game of football (soccer).  For now; God once again affirmed to me of His unfailing love to His children and the true honour it is to lay our lives before Him regardless of our unknown futures. 

Its taken me 3 years to begin to realize the impact this specific experience had on me and my faith.  I am not claiming to ‘know all the answers’ as I am still on this journey with God.  Rather I am simply bearing witness to the supernatural power that God has given every Believer, through the Holy Spirit.  After all, it was Jesus Himself who said that, ‘But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” John 16:7. Jesus also spoke these words, “and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and He will be in you” John 14:16-17. 

Prayer works.  God hears and He is here.