My prayer for Central High School

I love students! It is why I do student ministry. We launched our fall semester last night with 92 people and 2 salvation's. I went to sleep so excited. I was working out this morning as I heard maybe 50 sirens buzzing by. I was then told that a shooting at occurred at Central. We have one student who attends and many friends who visit us. I am also one of the football chaplains. I rushed out and to the school talking to out student who was in lock down in the chorus room. God protected her today. Usually she eats in the cafeteria at the time of the shooting but today she took a pop tart from home and was in the chorus room. I have now heard that the student shot has passed away. My heart hurts because two students lives are ruined. One has passed from this life to the next and the other will never have a real life. Why? As I sit here and type, I am now more passionate than ever to reach students with the gospel. I want them to have hope, to have God, and for them to know he loves them unconditionally. To all of my students, I love you and I am here. To Bailey, I am glad your OK. I have never been so happy to see you than when i watched you walk from the school to your car. Even though we could not talk face to face I prayed for God's peace over you. Things will be OK. There is more work to be done.

Mark

God I pray that you will pour down your peace and Holy Spirit upon the lives of the students and parents of CHS. I pray that they understand that you are God and you are still on your throne. Today you were not surprised or caught off guard. We live in a fallen world and one day evil will be destroyed! Until then we cling to you and we ask that you help us, guide us, use us, and keep us from temptation and evil. There are hearts breaking today Father, and I ask that you comfort them. For those asking questions, please put your people in the right places to listen first and answer if necessary. God I pray that good will come from this tragedy and that new life may result from this also. You are God and you are sovereign. We love you and trust you. Move today and everyday. We ask that your will be done. In Jesus name, Amen!

Africa Day 10: Passion Cape Town

Well I am done with Passion SA. Tonight we finished the second leg of the Passion World Tour in Cape Town. I got up early and had breakfast before leaving for the venue. We had to set up chairs and then zip tie them together. The set-up went pretty easy. All 4000 chairs were supposed to be delivered at 10 AM...at 2:30 PM I was upset with the the company we used and trying to find the chairs we paid for. Everything worked out and the night was amazing! From the time the video launched until the end, the whole night was special. It was rewarding again to see a year's worth of work finally celebrated. I am so grateful to Passion for allowing me this opportunity. Chris and Matt did a great job leading worship and of course Louie was awesome. I am going to bed thinking and knowing "Savior, he can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save, he is mighty to save. So shine your light and let the whole earth see...were singing for the glory of the risen King! JESUS!" Well it is 2:45 AM and I am off to bed. I will write more tomorrow.

Cheers
Mark

Africa Day 9: The Sea Swallowed the Sun

Well today was a great day! I had a great breakfast and talked with a new friend named Quin. He is also a student pastor here in SA and I met him a year ago. Then he had 13 students and last night he told me in a year they have grown into 120 students. I was soaking in his ideas and love for God. They encourage their students to do a 30 second prayer before entering school. They were doing it in a classroom but the whole school began to participate and it was hard to get 1200 students into a 45 student sized-room. AMAZING! After breakfast we had a walk through of our venue. I am excited about Passion Cape Town tomorrow at 7:00 Pm which will be 1:00 PM for you. We went to the waterfront for lunch and i had the most amazing calamari ever. We then went shopping at the market. I bought an African drum for the kids, a Zulu spear, and a painting of the townships here. After the market we went to Camps Bay which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful places in the world! You have the rock mountains on one side and the ocean on the other...it is breath taking. We also ate the most amazing ice cream. No joke, it was the best ice cream I have ever had. The shop was named Mozart. We think climbed out on the rocks and sat down and watched the sun set. It was like the sea swallowed the sun. It was beautiful and I so wished Carrie could have been next to me. Love I promise i will bring you here some day and we will eat ice cream on the rocks and watch the sun set. It will be beautiful but not as beautiful as you! My kids started school today. Brycen started kindergarten and Regan Pre-K 4. My heart broke that I was not there. I was able to get in after the venue in time to skype them before they left. Regan was so excited that she woke up at 6:00 AM. Where have my little babies gone. I am ready to come home. I am so full right now, God is doing amazing things here in SA! I will see most of you Sunday at church.

Cheers
Mark

Africa Day 8: Getting ready again!

Well today was very busy for me. I spent almost all day sending e-mails and talking on the phone making sure everything is ready for our event Wednesday night. All is well even though I was worried at different times today. All of our team arrived tonight after having a great safari in Kruger. They saw the big five which is huge here and to see a leopard is rare I here. I did walk down the street to Cavendish which has a mall and places to eat. I bought a cool pair of shoes for R79.99 which is about $11. I do want to thank God for an answered prayer. I had someone who bought me a mac laptop to do graphics and movies at church. I am so blessed by God and overwhelmed by the graciousness of this person. I love God so much, he loves us! If that wasn't enough...apple had a deal going and I got a new printer also. I am loving life and ready to return and get going with the fall ministry! I am so pumped about speaking every Sunday night. It will be great. I hope all is well with everyone. I am off to bed even though it is only 5:00 PM for you.

Mark

Day 3-6: Catching you non-Facebookers Up!

Africa Day 3
Well I only got five hours sleep last night. I could not go to sleep and just for Grant Mills...I watched Stomp the Yard on TV. So I have been tired all day. It is almost 1 AM now and I am still awake. I have taken a sleeping pill so hopefully I will be gone in a few minutes. Today we finished shopping and we prepared hospitality bags for everyone and placed them in their rooms. That took a while. Our team arrives throughout the day tomorrow. Please pray for the event in Joburg on Saturday. It starts at 10 AM here and runs until 10 PM. That will be 4 AM for you. We ate at the Spur tonight which is a favorite of ours here in SA. Well I hope church goes well tonight. Thanks Chuck for preaching. Do not forget the Pool Blast at Court South next Wednesday-it will be a blast! I love you guys!

Africa Day 4
Please pray that I can sleep. I get so tired during the day but at night I cannot sleep. It is 12:20 AM and I am wide awake. All of our team arrived in Joburg today. I was able to talk very briefly with Chris and Louie today. I rested awhile this afternoon and have been studying and preparing sermons for Wednesday's and Sunday nights. I am so pumped about the new Sunday nights starting in September. Tonight I went to dinner with our team leads and the Fee band. These guys are awesome! After dinner we sat in the hotel talking. These are some great guys and I know SA will love them. I cannot wait until Saturday. I want to thank God for this experience and for what God is doing in my life. Not only has God given me a great wife and kids...but he has given me a great church and ministry at CHBC. God is also providing things I have been praying about for years. I love God! Well tonight I am going to bed excited. Tomorrow I will be at the venue all day as we are setting up for Saturday. Keep praying and I will talk to you tomorrow. Thanks for journeying with me. To all of the bloggers, I am sorry...I cannot access my blog from Joburg.

Africa Day 5 & 6
I apologize for not writing yesterday. I spent 12 hours at the venue setting up and getting everything ready for today. We then went as a team to Moya, which is an authentic African Restaurant. We had 5 courses and 2 desserts. It was very good but not good on the stomach. Several of our team did not feel well today. Yesterday was amazing and very tiring.What can I say about today...WOW! God showed up as did the South Africans. We had 6,000 people going hard after the heart of God. The Passion video started with Hello Joburg and the noise was deafening. It only got louder as the day went by. It was great to see Whites, Black's, and coloreds worshipping together. They came together under the banner of love to worship the King of Glory! Steve Fee was amazing and he also rocked the place to the ground. At one point so many people were jumping up and down that the floor was actually bouncing! It was also great to see that many university students with their eyes closed and hands lifted in worship. No one cared today, almost everyone went for it! I will never forget today. Today will be kept in my heart and images etched into my mind. It was so rewarding to see a year of planning pay off. I thank God for everyone involved with Passion and for this opportunity they gave to me. Louie spoke on what Passion is about and Isaiah 26:8. He also spoke about Ashley for the last two sessions. The students were into it and again I wish my words could express what really happened today. I will talk more tomorrow. I got only several hours of sleep last night and i must be up early again tomorrow. Please pray for me as I have hurt my knee really bad. I do not know what happened. I was walking and when I took a step, it popped. I am in a lot of pain. God provided a physical therapist and my knee keeps popping in and out. Anyway enough of that...God will provide! I cannot wait to tell you stories upon my return. Pray also for my family. I have been gone almost 2 weeks and still have 6 days to go. Carrie is amazing and I love her so much. I will see you soon. Thanks for praying for Joburg!

Africa Day 7: I am back on!

Well I am sorry for all of you non-facebook people but I have not been able to access this page while I was in Joburg. You can read Day 3-6 on facebook though. I am copying day 7 below and will try and add the others later. Things here are awesome!

Well today we sent the biggest part of the team to the Kruger national Park and our little small lead team flew to Cape Town which i must say is one of the coolest places on planet earth. I love it here. I would live here in a second. Well not a second because it would take about 20 hours to fly here. We left Joburg with great thoughts in our minds, smiles on our faces, and joy in our hearts. Looking back I think of the greatest of God. God could have done that event without any of us but that he allowed me to do anything makes me love Him even more. I think of the floor shaking, hands lifted up in worship, and a loud noise that I know made God very happy! South Africans are crazy and not afraid to go after God in worship...I love it! I did forget to mention two funny events yesterday. Evan walked into the green room during the first session and one of our rented tables was on fire! The flames were huge. A candle had gotten hot and tipped over spilling hot wax onto a wooden basket and the rest is history. Luckily Evan had a water bottle in his and and others close by. Evan saved the day and no one but us even knew. The table did die however with a huge hole burnt into it. The other event happened late last night. Everyone had left and Evan, Christina, and I were loading up the final things into the van. Someone from Evan's group texted Christina and she was trying to figure out how to call them (we are using old SA cell phones here). Instead of walking through the open glass door, she walked right into a closed one. We all three laughed so hard we almost became sick. It really was a great day yesterday and I cannot wait to share it with you. Today we landed in Cape Town. We checked into the hotel which is awesome and rested a bit. Tonight we went to Hillsong Cape Town. It is a church plant from the main church in Australia. The former student pastor Phil Dooley is the lead pastor. They have only been in existence since the middle of June and they already have 4 services that are full and thinking of starting number five. It was a great service. The worship was awesome and they did one of my favorite songs "The Time Has Come." Phil's message was great and challenging. It was a good night. We ate at the Spur on the waterfront which is one of our favorite SA places to eat. I am now here and going to bed. I hope church was well at CHBC and wherever you go! Thanks for all of you who prayed for me and for my knee. It was so crazy...I walking and it popped causing a lot of pain and today the same thing happened and I have no pain at all. I believe God healed me! Thanks again for the prayers. Also please pray for some friends of ours. I got word today that one of my friends in Charlotte was killed in a motorcycle accident Saturday. He was young and he leaves a young wife Erica behind. Please pray for her and for those ministering to her. Well today is Sunday and I will be home on Saturday. I cannot wait to see my kids and my beautiful wife. I have not gotten to talk to them today so I am home sick tonight. Sweet dreams guys I love you! Regan, if I could choose any girls in the world to be my daughter I would choose you every time. Brycen and Corbin, if I could choose any boys to be my sons, I would choose you both every time. Carrie what can I say...of all the women in the world, you are the greatest! I love you so much. You still make my heart beat fast!Mark

Africa Day 2- Shopping and more Shopping!!!

Well you can tell by the title how my dad was. We shopped a lot! We had to buy things for the green room and hospitality bags that we will give the team when they arrive Thursday morning. We woke up at 8:30 and had breakfast at 9. We are 6 hours ahead of you. After breakfast, we met with Jire which is an Christian organization that has helped us with tickets, transportation, and other items. After the meeting we had a quick walk through in the venue. We then shopped the rest of the day. Hopefully tomorrow will consist of less shopping! We are eating Pizza with Evan's family. They have triple decker pizza which is GOOD!!!! I have had some grapetizer today which is my favorite drink here in SA. Well that is my day today. I hope all is well with everyone. I miss you.

Mark

Africa Day 1- Planes, Flights, and Johnny Knoxville

Well I am here in Joburg, SA. I promised I would blog every day so you could journey with me. However, I cannot access my blog here for some reason. So I will place my thoughts here tonight and try again tomorrow. It is winter here and cold. I traveled from 1:00 PM Sunday from Knoxville until 5:05 PM Monday here in Joburg. There is not much to say except I watched movies on the plane, ate bad food, and slept. I watched Prince Caspian and Iron Man. I guess the only exciting thing that happened besides our plane dropping in turbulence and watching lightning underneath us was i flew from Knoxville to Atlanta with Johnny Knoxville. I saw him in th airport and thought it was him. When i heard him talk I knew. I prayed that we would sit close enough for me to talk to him but he was in the back of the plane. Well that is all for day 1. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Mark