Cullen Allen

Day #3 In Stockholm - "Free Healings"

We're continuing to spread the message of Jesus throughout the city of Stockholm.  It's amazing how many people we come in contact with who have never heard about Jesus before.  It's another strong reminder of how necessary our mission is for the few days that we are here.  There is nothing more important than having someone accept Jesus Christ into his/her life! 

In one of the locations where we were ministering, a team of ours put up a sign that said, "Free Healings."  It was a way to start conversations with people and give us an opportunity to pray with them to receive a miracle.  It's also a very bold move to release the power of God, which I absolutely love! There's no hiding or 2nd guessing when you make a statement like that.  When someone inquires about "Free Healings," we then tell them that Jesus is the one who heals.  

This sign attracted the attention of a teenager who was Muslim.  3 of our team members (Ben, Andy & Esther) began to tell him about Jesus.  After they shared with him, he prayed to accept Jesus right there on the spot.  As the team was praying with him, they realized that he couldn't move his arm.  They discovered that his collarbone was broken and the doctors said it would be 3 to 4 months before it would heal properly.  It appeared that he didn't have enough money to place in a cast or a sling, so his arm just hung limp by his side.   

The 3 team members offered to pray for him, and although he was initially reluctant, he eventually agreed.  So they gently placed their hands on him and asked God to do a miracle in his arm/collarbone.  After they prayed, they encouraged the young man to attempt to move his arm to "confirm" his healing.  He responded by saying, "I can't.  I told you that it was broken."  But after further encouragement by the 3, he agreed to try to move it.  As he did, a look of shock came over his face along with a huge smile.  He began to move his previously limp arm in ways that were impossible just moments before.  God performed a miracle!

As he departed he said, "I was once a Muslim, but now I'm a Christian!"

Tweeting The Entire Bible. . .

Twitter is a growing phenomenon, and I like it just as much as anyone else.  It's a "mini-blog" that people use to connect with friends, increase their social network, follow their favorite star, advertise their business and everything in between.  One of the things I personally enjoy is tweeting key Scriptures as a means to encourage others.  But I have to admit I never thought of tweeting the entire Bible.  I just read an article that documented a worship director in the UK who plans to do just that. . .tweet the entire Bible over a period of 3 years.  That's a pretty big feat!  You can read more about it Here. 

Incredible Students at National Fine Arts

We had over 30 students go to the National Fine Arts competition in Detroit, MI this past week.  Their performance was absolutely amazing.  Click here to check out Jeff Leake's blog for all the details. 

In Victory & Defeat

For those who know me, it's obvious that I'm a big Texas Longhorn fan. So it was heartbreaking to see the QB with the most wins and highest completion percentage in the history of college football go down to injury on the 5th play of the BCS National Championship game. (I really think we could have won the game if he would have played - but that's another subject).  He is definitely a difference-maker.

Well, one of my good friends gave me a Colt McCoy jersey today as a gift. I absolutely love it!  McCoy isn't just a great football player, he's also a follower of Christ and an all around classy guy.  I believe that you can learn a lot about a person by how they handle disappointment and defeat. The moments right after the championship game against Alabama were probably some of the most difficult moments in McCoy's football career, since he didn't get to play in the biggest game of his life.  This was the game he had waited all of his life to compete in.  Yet in that moment of great disappointment, it's refreshing to hear what he said and how he handled himself.  While he's one of the great college football QB's to ever play the game, his character and relationship with God speak louder than all the accomplishments. That's the last memory we'll have of McCoy on a college football field.  That's the kind of message that will live on long after the event, the trophies and accolades.  Watch it below. . .

Teenagers Involved With Ministry

I love to see teenagers involved with ministry.  I have used the following Scripture as theme for many years.  1 Timothy 4:12, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."  I think many people often set limits as to what young people can do, but God has a completely different perspective.  In the Scripture I just quoted, Paul was challenging Timothy (very possibly a teenager at the time) to set an example for others to follow.  Since God doesn't put limits on young people, why should we?

In the world of sports, teenagers are often recruited for their superstar potential and raw talent.  In the same way, it's my vision to unleash the God-given abilities of teenagers and to use them to make a difference in our world today.  I believe this makes God's heart smile. 

One of the ways we do this is through our youth worship bands.  I LOVE the fact that all of our youth worship bands are made up entirely of teenagers.  They do an amazing job.  You should see how talented they are!  (I can say this because there is no credit that goes to me).  Joy Robinson is our adult director and coordinator who has been working with our youth worship bands for the past couple of years.  I'm so grateful for her investment into the lives of the students.  Joy has a gift for maximizing their musical talents and gifts and turning them into something very special.

Last night was one of the those nights when I reflected on how proud I am of our teenagers.  Jessica S. led worship at our Sr. High 2Twenty service for the first time.  She did an outstanding job.  What's the best part about this?  It's Jessica's age.  She just started 9th grade about a week ago.  Who says you're too young to be used by God?! 

What Could Happen When Your GPS Is Wrong - Ouch!

Click here to see how a house was demolished because of wrong coordinates given by a GPS system.  Ouch!

 

Unlikely Basketball Hero

Someone sent me this link. I LOVE stories like this!

Feeding An Elephant

One of the unique experiences I had in Thailand was coming face to face with an elephant.  While I was having a meal in downtown Khon Kaen with a great missionary couple, Oskar and Rebecca, they noticed an elephant walking down the street.  (Some people walk their dogs and some people walk their elephants).  Since this isn't something that you see everyday in America, I decided to go take some pictures.  However, not only was I able to get some pics, but I was also able to feed the elephant.  I purchased some vegetables (cucumbers I think) and fed him right on the street. 

 

Behind The Scenes In Thailand

Although we're home from Thailand, there are still more stories to tell!  Over the next several days I'll highlight some things in my blog that I didn't get a chance to share. 

One of the things I'm very grateful for happens to be bathrooms in the U.S.!  You can see a picture of one of the bathrooms that we utilized in Thailand near the church that we were working with, Khon Kaen International Church.  It's a covered hole in the ground with no where to sit.  Your "balance" must be up to par when using this style of toilet, otherwise you could really face some challenges!  The "pool" of water beside the toilet is NOT for taking a bath. It's used for dipping water into the whole after business has been taken care of.  That's the way it's "flushed."

And finally, the toilet paper cannot be put in the hole.  The plumbing system cannot handle that.  You must place the toilet paper in a bucket located in the corner of the room.  As you can imagine, this allows for many strange smells to linger in the room. . .    

Eating Bugs In Thailand

I'm told that eating fried bugs is a popular snack in Thailand.  Different vendors actually sell them and you also purchase them at the local market.  I promised the MCM Ministry School team that I would eat a fried bug while I was in Thailand.  Well, tonight was my night I guess you could say.  Not only did I eat one, but I actually ate 4 different kinds!  The one that I'm holding in my hand in is a larva or grub worm of some kind.  Whatever it was, it had one of the worst "after-tastes" that I've ever experienced.  Then there were a couple different kinds of crickets as well as a grasshopper.  The best tasting one (or the least offensive tasting one) was actually the grasshopper (I can't believe I just said that).  

Several others on our team also ate some bugs.  Scroll down to see some up-close pics of these Thailand "snacks."  The large water bugs or cockroaches (I don't remember what kind they were) were huge - at least several inches in length.  I didn't eat one of those.  Gilbert did, however, and it took him about 15 minutes to finally get it all down.  I enjoyed watching him almost "lose his lunch" in the process.  It was priceless.  The pics below are worth a view.  Enjoy. . .