Can you believe 2010 is over already??!! Tonight marks the beginning of a new year! Many people are ready to be rid of 2010 but Liz and I will be able to look back at this year and see so many changes, love, and God's hand in our life to provide and take care of us; His children.
Yesterday, December 30th, was my last day of work! It definitely feels weird to not have a normal job anymore, but, more exciting than anything else to begin doing something that my wife and I are so passionate about! We leave for India in about a week and a half!!! The time has flown and we will be soon as well!
There is so much more to talk about but that will be for a later time. As for now, I hope everyone has a wonderful, fun, and safe New Years Eve tonight! We will be going to a hockey game with my family! Fun, fun, fun!
See you in 2011!!...maybe for dinner....or when we get back from India in April! Contact us if you'd like to see us before we leave on the 12th!
Love and blessings to you all!
Chris
McCall
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Almost Christmas!!!
Can you believe it is almost Christmas?!?! This year has definitely been a whirlwind for us! We have been so go, go, go it was nice to FINALLY get a little time to relax this past weekend...kind of. Our team had a retreat up in Big Bear over the weekend and boy did we get a whole bunch done! Best part was we didn't have to leave the house once! (It was cold anyway but not quite cold enough for snow..) For me personally it was a great time of rest and a chance for me to get over a cold that has been lingering since we got back from Hawaii.
God is doing something big through this team. There are several churches watching how this goes and waiting to see what happens. This trip is potentially going to cause a shift in the way global missions is conducted as well as define the future of the partnership between Harvest India and RockHarbor. It is important for me to remind you all that RockHarbor has put down close to half of the money that we need for this trip. The money that we are raising is the remainder of what needs to be raised. RockHarbor is very much invested in this trip that we are embarking on next month.
We also received a ton of insight into the culture of India through an Indian couple named Matthew and Anita who were visiting us from Michigan. They heard about our team, what we were doing, and became very interested. They too (and there church) will also be watching to see what we find as we do missions in a different way. It was a great time and we gained a lot of wisdom from them...
Pray, pray, pray...the power of prayer is more than we can ever imagine! God here's our prayers! Pray for our unity and for us to hear the Holy Spirit very clearly as we draft our first Plan of Action tonight at our meeting.
As we get ready for Christmas this weekend don't forget to thank God for all the abundant blessings He has given us! Take a moment to stop and breathe it all in! God Bless and Merry Christmas!!
Chris
God is doing something big through this team. There are several churches watching how this goes and waiting to see what happens. This trip is potentially going to cause a shift in the way global missions is conducted as well as define the future of the partnership between Harvest India and RockHarbor. It is important for me to remind you all that RockHarbor has put down close to half of the money that we need for this trip. The money that we are raising is the remainder of what needs to be raised. RockHarbor is very much invested in this trip that we are embarking on next month.
We also received a ton of insight into the culture of India through an Indian couple named Matthew and Anita who were visiting us from Michigan. They heard about our team, what we were doing, and became very interested. They too (and there church) will also be watching to see what we find as we do missions in a different way. It was a great time and we gained a lot of wisdom from them...
Pray, pray, pray...the power of prayer is more than we can ever imagine! God here's our prayers! Pray for our unity and for us to hear the Holy Spirit very clearly as we draft our first Plan of Action tonight at our meeting.
As we get ready for Christmas this weekend don't forget to thank God for all the abundant blessings He has given us! Take a moment to stop and breathe it all in! God Bless and Merry Christmas!!
Chris
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Hawaii!!!!
Well, we are here in Kona on the big island of Hawaii!! What an amazing trip it has been so far! We are here for the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) 50th anniversary. We have had some amazing conversations already about many different types of ways to effect our world for the gospel of Jesus. One was with family that I hadn't met yet until last night; Jen and Nick Greener. We got to hear all about the work they've been doing in Rwanda and bringing sustainable clean water to an orphanage that has kids who have been orphaned by the genocide. Lots of amazing things going on but there is still lots of work to do.
This morning at church, a man from India who everyone seems to call Uncle Benny, came to speak at church. He plays guitar and invented a guitar that has drums built into it. What an amazing musician, but even more, what a great servant of the Lord. He has traveled to every continent and country in 6 years and every trip was to give Glory to God. He went, played his guitar, and worshiped the one and only Almighty God everywhere he went. He was very inspirational and has lived a life surrendered to Jesus. Check out www.bennyprasad.com!!! Now...after a nice long afternoon on the white beaches of Hawaii, it is almost time for dinner!! Hope everyone has had a great weekend!
Chris
This morning at church, a man from India who everyone seems to call Uncle Benny, came to speak at church. He plays guitar and invented a guitar that has drums built into it. What an amazing musician, but even more, what a great servant of the Lord. He has traveled to every continent and country in 6 years and every trip was to give Glory to God. He went, played his guitar, and worshiped the one and only Almighty God everywhere he went. He was very inspirational and has lived a life surrendered to Jesus. Check out www.bennyprasad.com!!! Now...after a nice long afternoon on the white beaches of Hawaii, it is almost time for dinner!! Hope everyone has had a great weekend!
Chris
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Harvest India
To learn more about the organization we will be working with in India go to their web site where you can watch an amazing video to see all the various ministries they are involved with.
Go to: harvestindia.org
Go to: harvestindia.org
INDIA, here we come!
This is a letter I wrote that will go out to all the jr. high families at the church I work at. The letter informs them of the exciting new adventure Chris and I are walking through. I thought it was worth sharing...
“The way to make room for God is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. We must live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides” -Oswald Chambers
December 1st marks six months that I have been on staff as the JH Female Associate here at Grace. In this short season I have seen students encounter God for the very first time. I have prayed with many and have watched God provide for his children through answered prayer. I have witnessed students bring friend after friend to church. I have heard from families that are drawing closer to God because of the influence of their son/daughter. I have been privileged to work with wonderful leaders that love God and love JH kids. I have been sharpened, strengthened, encouraged, and supported. My time at Grace has been nothing short of incredible.
My story with Grace began back in April, when I was referred to apply for an open position from a pastor at RockHarbor. I had been attending RockHarbor for 6 years and had recently returned from a six-month missions trip with YWAM to South Africa. Although I had never really thought about doing Jr. High ministry before (I had only worked with Children’s and High School ministry), God absolutely revealed Himself to me when He open the doors for me to work at Grace. At the time I envisioned myself being at Grace for the long haul… or at least until I had a baby (I had only been married 1 month when I started, so that seemed logical). My husband, being a musician, is committed to his band and loves his job. God had truly blessed us, what more could we ask for?
Well… God seemed to have one more thing on His mind, which was totally off our radar. About a month ago Chris and I were contacted out of the blue and asked to prayerfully consider partnering with RockHarbor and their Indian partnership, Harvest India, to join a residency team with the intention of planting a new church in South East India. We were caught completely by surprise but excited (and to be completely honest, a little fearful) at the opportunity God may be giving us. The truth is, we really should not have been so surprised, seeing as Chris and I both have spent much time in India, as well as raising awareness of the desperate need for Jesus in this nation. When we met a year and a half ago, the very first conversation we had was about our mutual love for India. As we leaned into the Lord over this potentially life-changing decision, we began to feel more peace about going than about staying.
I am absolutely confident that God has used my short time at Grace to mold me and prepare me for this next step in my journey of faith. What I find so unique about this situation is that it is not going to be A church sending missionaries to go build another church. Instead, I feel as though God has allowed me to become part of the body at Grace and RockHarbor (as well as two other churches that Chris has been apart of for a number of years). As a result, we are being sent out by THE church to build THE church. It seems altogether biblical to me.
The plan is to leave for India the second week of January. We will spend the next three months in India; we will pray, assess needs, and gather information to assist Harvest India in starting a God glorifying church directed towards University age students. We will also be working along side Harvest India in all their other various ministries. Upon our return in April, the residency scouting team will spend the following six months back in the states planning and training an even larger team that will go on to live in India for the next two years with the purpose of planting a healthy, completely sustainable church that will be lead by Indian nationals.
My hope is that this will be an incredible opportunity to bring my Jr. High kids along. My being in India will have an impact on the students. I will not be able to be at bible study or take students on one on ones anymore, but I will be able to share our story through a blog and send video messages via YouTube. I am confident in the extraordinary ways God will use this experience to shape this young generation. Please know that this decision to step down from staff to volunteer was not made lightly. I will miss you guys very much, but the cool thing is that this is not goodbye. As I will continue to pray for each of the JH students and families, I ask that you would keep Chris and me in your prayers as well. Pray that we will know God more deeply, experience His power more fully, minister more effectively than ever, and be completely surrendered to His will.
If you are interested in following us on our journey, please make sure to visit our blog www.chrisandlizzi.blogspot.com where we will keep you informed about everything God is doing in and through our lives. There is also a link on the blog to donate finically. We have committed to raising $9,000 by the time we leave in early January. "In all things, pray without ceasing." Please consider partnering with us.
“The way to make room for God is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. We must live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides” -Oswald Chambers
December 1st marks six months that I have been on staff as the JH Female Associate here at Grace. In this short season I have seen students encounter God for the very first time. I have prayed with many and have watched God provide for his children through answered prayer. I have witnessed students bring friend after friend to church. I have heard from families that are drawing closer to God because of the influence of their son/daughter. I have been privileged to work with wonderful leaders that love God and love JH kids. I have been sharpened, strengthened, encouraged, and supported. My time at Grace has been nothing short of incredible.
My story with Grace began back in April, when I was referred to apply for an open position from a pastor at RockHarbor. I had been attending RockHarbor for 6 years and had recently returned from a six-month missions trip with YWAM to South Africa. Although I had never really thought about doing Jr. High ministry before (I had only worked with Children’s and High School ministry), God absolutely revealed Himself to me when He open the doors for me to work at Grace. At the time I envisioned myself being at Grace for the long haul… or at least until I had a baby (I had only been married 1 month when I started, so that seemed logical). My husband, being a musician, is committed to his band and loves his job. God had truly blessed us, what more could we ask for?
Well… God seemed to have one more thing on His mind, which was totally off our radar. About a month ago Chris and I were contacted out of the blue and asked to prayerfully consider partnering with RockHarbor and their Indian partnership, Harvest India, to join a residency team with the intention of planting a new church in South East India. We were caught completely by surprise but excited (and to be completely honest, a little fearful) at the opportunity God may be giving us. The truth is, we really should not have been so surprised, seeing as Chris and I both have spent much time in India, as well as raising awareness of the desperate need for Jesus in this nation. When we met a year and a half ago, the very first conversation we had was about our mutual love for India. As we leaned into the Lord over this potentially life-changing decision, we began to feel more peace about going than about staying.
I am absolutely confident that God has used my short time at Grace to mold me and prepare me for this next step in my journey of faith. What I find so unique about this situation is that it is not going to be A church sending missionaries to go build another church. Instead, I feel as though God has allowed me to become part of the body at Grace and RockHarbor (as well as two other churches that Chris has been apart of for a number of years). As a result, we are being sent out by THE church to build THE church. It seems altogether biblical to me.
The plan is to leave for India the second week of January. We will spend the next three months in India; we will pray, assess needs, and gather information to assist Harvest India in starting a God glorifying church directed towards University age students. We will also be working along side Harvest India in all their other various ministries. Upon our return in April, the residency scouting team will spend the following six months back in the states planning and training an even larger team that will go on to live in India for the next two years with the purpose of planting a healthy, completely sustainable church that will be lead by Indian nationals.
My hope is that this will be an incredible opportunity to bring my Jr. High kids along. My being in India will have an impact on the students. I will not be able to be at bible study or take students on one on ones anymore, but I will be able to share our story through a blog and send video messages via YouTube. I am confident in the extraordinary ways God will use this experience to shape this young generation. Please know that this decision to step down from staff to volunteer was not made lightly. I will miss you guys very much, but the cool thing is that this is not goodbye. As I will continue to pray for each of the JH students and families, I ask that you would keep Chris and me in your prayers as well. Pray that we will know God more deeply, experience His power more fully, minister more effectively than ever, and be completely surrendered to His will.
If you are interested in following us on our journey, please make sure to visit our blog www.chrisandlizzi.blogspot.com where we will keep you informed about everything God is doing in and through our lives. There is also a link on the blog to donate finically. We have committed to raising $9,000 by the time we leave in early January. "In all things, pray without ceasing." Please consider partnering with us.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Chris's First Blog Post!!
Alright, so here I am on a Sunday afternoon attempting to write my 3rd blog in the history of Chris McCall. I'd really just like to take some time to talk about some things that are near and dear to my heart. First and foremost, I want to thank my wife Lizzi McCall for setting up this whole blog page! Without her this would never have gotten done! She has done a great job and I just want to acknowledge that! Love you baby!
As many of you know, I have a huge passion for music! I love all things music and being given the opportunity to play music all over the world! One thing I appreciate most about music is that it transcends all walls and boundaries. It is a universal language that all of us as humans can appreciate. I firmly believe that God can and has used music to transform hearts and lives. It is in this vision of my music that the band fits right in. I am the lead singer in a band called Making Eyes. We're a four piece rock band and desire to see God use us and our music to change lives for HIS greater purpose. I will in a later blog upload our band Bio for you to read; or you can check us out on myspace and facebook by searching for Making Eyes.
Lastly, I wanna highlight a recent gig I played on Friday November 5th, 2010. It was an event benefiting Northrise University. They are a University in Zambia really changing a country through education and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Would you take some time to check them out to see the difference they are making in so many peoples lives! I'm pretty sure that if you google search Northrise University it will come up.
Okay, signing off for now...Thanks for reading!
~Chris~
As many of you know, I have a huge passion for music! I love all things music and being given the opportunity to play music all over the world! One thing I appreciate most about music is that it transcends all walls and boundaries. It is a universal language that all of us as humans can appreciate. I firmly believe that God can and has used music to transform hearts and lives. It is in this vision of my music that the band fits right in. I am the lead singer in a band called Making Eyes. We're a four piece rock band and desire to see God use us and our music to change lives for HIS greater purpose. I will in a later blog upload our band Bio for you to read; or you can check us out on myspace and facebook by searching for Making Eyes.
Lastly, I wanna highlight a recent gig I played on Friday November 5th, 2010. It was an event benefiting Northrise University. They are a University in Zambia really changing a country through education and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Would you take some time to check them out to see the difference they are making in so many peoples lives! I'm pretty sure that if you google search Northrise University it will come up.
Okay, signing off for now...Thanks for reading!
~Chris~
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Well... here I go!
It's been a long road getting to this point. I actually created this blog back in August, but for some reason or another, this is officially my first post! I feel like these sort of things always feel silly in the beginning. I think this idea that no one will really care to read this, has kept me from letting this be a fun thing. Even if this only ends up being an online journal, I am definitely okay with that.
If it turns out that people actually do read this, my hope is that this blog will become an a valuable extension of our ministry. That when you read it, God will use our words and our story to inspire you. But Know this, it will be neither Chris nor I that bring any encouraging words. If it turns our that you are encouraged, know that it came from your Father in Heaven.
The purpose of this blog is to bring you on our ever exiting faith adventure with the most creative, loving, passionate, all knowing, everlasting, and faithful God the we are blessed to serve!
If it turns out that people actually do read this, my hope is that this blog will become an a valuable extension of our ministry. That when you read it, God will use our words and our story to inspire you. But Know this, it will be neither Chris nor I that bring any encouraging words. If it turns our that you are encouraged, know that it came from your Father in Heaven.
The purpose of this blog is to bring you on our ever exiting faith adventure with the most creative, loving, passionate, all knowing, everlasting, and faithful God the we are blessed to serve!
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