Life's Challenge

            Now before I jump straight into what I would call life’s most important and difficult thing to accomplish on a day to day basis, I would like to explain a bit about what ministry/life has looked like for me in the past few months and weeks.  In June I led a team to Brasil, for a 10 week outreach, I would say that this time of my life was the most challenging time thus far.  There are many aspects that made it this way.  Not just for obvious reasons like being in Brasil during the busiest craziest most outrageous time that Brasil has ever experienced in History during the World Cup, being in a new culture and just living in that new place which was completely different from what we were used to.  But as a leader of a team who is in a new place and was trying hard to seek out everything that God wanted for the team and attempting to lead exactly how God knew would be best for us became very spiritually exhausting and overwhelming at times.  

            We were a team of five guys and one lady each with our own different extremes in personality, this tended to make things very interesting from time to time; but I reckon that’s a normal thing when you have a team that consisted of 5 different nations.  During our time in Brasil we were a part of many different ministries and were able to see God move in some pretty incredible ways.  We were in about 4 different places throughout Brasil, they were; Sao Paulo/Campinas, Rio de Janeiro/Mesquita, The State of Miniature Eyes and Espirito Santo/Vitoria. 

            Each place in which I have been to for ministry in the past never fails to be different than the other place.  I have done ministry in the USA, Mexico, Australia, India and Brasil.  Within the next year I will go to another nation.  But even though these places have so many differences, they always have similarities as well.  Some of the similarities that I can think of off of my head top are that people are in pain everywhere, everyone is in need of this pain to be healed, all are in need of forgiveness and whether or not they are seeking a resolution to these things-no matter what there background looks like, each person in each nation of this planet can have this resolution. It’s Jesus.  Jesus is the simple but powerful change that can be brought to anyone. 

            I would like to encourage all of you Christian readers to take this blog that I have wrote and which was inspired fully by God and share this with your mates who are non believers but also for those who are.  God has the ability to take these words and use them to encourage and bring His people closer to Him.  Thanks for that!

            Some of the things that we did and things we saw God perform in Brasil.  I am so grateful to God that we were able to experience the “classic tourist spots”, like the Christ Statue in Rio de Janero, the Capacabana beach, the Ipanama beach, the World Cup of soccer as well as every other amazing place we saw.  But none of these amazing things could ever compare to being a small piece of a puzzle to the lives that we were able to see be completely transformed by Jesus.  We were blessed with a full schedule.  Some of the ministries we were a part of were street evangelism, speaking in churches every week, serving people by repairing buildings, doing yard work, fixing vehicles which had been sitting in the weeds that hadn’t ran in years in order to help them be able to drive 20 miles to get groceries rather than them walking, encourage the youth, see people be healed from things such as becoming pregnant after being barren for multiple years, visiting villages and hosting events for the children, families and prostitutes to come to in order to get away from danger and have a safe haven and to show them love where they had none, speak forgiveness grace and love over people in drug rehab houses and children and teenagers in prison alike. 

            Now there was one time in particular that was a crucial turning point for our team as well as for each of us at a personal level.  It was during week two of outreach.  We had an opportunity to go to a prison for children and teens from ages 8-20.  We were given one night to prepare and then that next morning we would check into security at the prison walls and then go into this prison that we were told was very sketchy.  When we were given this opportunity we were told that these children had been locked up for a variety of reasons, “These children of God are in here for things such as theft, assault, vandalism”, with tears in there eyes they said, “ but most are in here for rape often the victim being siblings and girls younger than them who had no defense, drugs by selling them, making them, distributing them and doing them, and some of them for murder, remember 8-20 years old.” 

            Now I do not tell you any of this to make you sad or depressed or anything like that, I tell you this to tell you how God can truly take the nastiest thing created by the devil himself and turn it into the utmost beautiful gem ever to be seen…please, picture a diamond being found in the dirt, when it is pulled out it probably looks like filth because it has been covered by soil or things of this earth up to this point in it’s existence…now picture running the gem under a clean tap of water.  Haha wow, that is astonishing!!! Admire its beauty and life! Just like that, it is made new and just like that God is able to clean up these children’s lives and make them clean from rape, drugs, murder and whatever else.  This symbol of water on the diamond is to represent the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross displaying such an example of love so that we could be forgiven and blameless in the face of our Father. This love is indescribable!! 

            This leads me to the cliffhanger that I left y’all with at the start of this.  What is life’s biggest challenge that we face daily?  It is simply to get out of the boat…. 

Matthew 14:22-33

Jesus Walks on the Water

²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

 When God gave us the opportunity of speaking to the children and teens at the prison; God was in other words asking us to step out of the boat.  Just like Jesus asked Matthew to step out of the boat in faith that he would be able to walk on water, He was asking us the same.  It shows in the these Bible verses that Matthew was scared to step out and he doubted, it was the same for us…we were honestly nervous to go and let God move through us to these people who had been labeled as rapists, murderers, thieves and druggies.  But see we chose to just do it, we chose to step out and allow for God to move through us and see these lives be forever anew and afresh through Jesus Christ.  Once again they were able to start with a clean slate in their lives. No longer labeled as bad, but good! 

            This is a fairly radical example of stepping out.  But in everything, every single day we can step out of ourselves and step into what God has for us.  God surpasses all, every fear must flee in His name.  Thank you for reading what I have wrote, I hope that it has encouraged and challenged you all.:) God bless You.  For those who follow my blog on the Blogger website that is great, but I will slowly be switching over to using Wordpress. I am still going to post through both, but on Wordpress I have actually created a website were I am trying to build up my crowd of followers and viewers so check it out! Thanks.

Heading home-encouragment from God to You!

Many different things are rushing through my head right now to be honest. My team and I are sitting in an airport right now waiting to board our next flight EY 470 to Brisbane. We landed here in Abu Dhabi after a 15 hour flight from São Paulo, Brasil.  Now we are waiting for our 15 hour layover to pass and then we will have another 15 hour flight to Brisbane, Au.

What do I mean when I say that I have a huge amount of things rushing through my head? Well of course the fact that I have left many amazing friends behind in Brasil is on my mind.  The process that I need to begin as I transfer from the "Mission Field" into another mission field back in Brisbane and going back into the "normal" life that I had before having my everything radically changed by God while in Brasil is on my mind.  But mainly my amazement and awe of God is what has been flooding my thoughts...

Most things are classified for now, but God has spoken so many things to me while in Brasil.  Not only has this time been used to grow me as a leader.  But God has so faithfully been answering and speaking to me many things that I have been asking of Him to show me.  It is amazing to see just how faithful God is when we choose to say to Him, "God, have me, have all of me, it is not my life but yours Father.  As I seek your face and your best interests for me, speak to me and let my steps follow yours Lord. I want to be one with You!!"

Now don't get me wrong.  It's not easy, it takes sacrifice to your own wants, wishes and desires and constantly reminding yourself that you have nothing and that you are nothing without God being given the reigns to your life.  These are all things that I have been learning for the past year or so and each and every day, because I am only a human have to remind myself of these things. 

Please. Think about the things you have just read. Ask yourself these things.  Have I given Him all of me? Or have I ever asked God to give me direction in my life...Career, school, relationships?Do these things today and as you submit to Him be ready to see Gods FAITHFULNESS and LOVE be shown through to you.  God is so good!

Soon I will blog again to give a summary about this past 9ish weeks in Brasil while on Outreach.  But for now I really felt God asking me to write what you have read above. So if you are reading this you having read what is above, let this be a challenge and really seek Gods face for these things. Ask Him what areas you need to change in your own life and walk with Him. 

Much Love, Michael G. Norris

Outreach coming soon...

   Friends and Family,                                                                                                5/30/2014

     Wow...These past weeks have been incredibly challenging and God has really been pushing me on and pressing me forward to become the man that He has created me to be.  To never settle to what is comfortable is what it has mainly looked like. To give every area of my life and of my being to Him.  To walk out in my authority as a leader, speaker, and in proclaiming who God is! And now every bit of my preparations have come down to this moment, this moment that God has designed for His team to go to Brazil.
     We will leave on Saturday the 31 of May at 10:00 am, we will land in Brazil on the 1st of June.  For the first 2 weeks we will be in Sao Paulo, then in Rio de Janero for 3 weeks and finally in a place called Vitoria where we will be for 4 weeks.  In our time there we will be doing many different ministries with the World Cup, things such as evangelism, practically doing hands on things, preaching in churches, working with teens and children...there will be many other ministries that we will be a part of while we are there.  So with that we will be in Brazil for about 9 weeks total!  We are very expectant for God to move and to be making massive impacts on the people there while we are being His hands and feet and shining His love to everyone we come into contact with!
   
        PLEASE PRAY!
 1.) Pray for Me, Lauren, Dylan, Patrick, Rafael, and Peter to be as one unit run fully by God that our unity would be both undeniable and unbreakable.
 2.) Unity in the country of Brazil, no uprisings or riots, just pray for a complete sheet of Gods blessing to be over the nations safety in this time of the World Cup.
 3.) Health in the team.
 4.) For strength and perseverance.
 5.) And that we would be able to portray exactly who God is to everybody in which we come into contact with.
 6.) A supernatural boldness to step out.

       Thank You so much for your support in the prayer of our team, it is so crucial to the way that things will be.  Prayer is a powerhouse!!!  Titus 3:1-8 are the verses that were given to our team to be run by and based off of in Gods Word...
   

Be Ready for Every Good Work

3 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

Again thank YOU!
 
    Sincerely, Michael Gregory Norris

Blog Update week 8

                                                     DTS-BLS Thus Far.

It’s just crazy how fast the time soars by, day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year.  I have rapidly realized more and more being out of high school now, just how correct Dad and Mom were every time they said to me, “just wait until you get older, time fly’s!…” yikes that is crazy.  Point being, this Discipleship Training School that I am staffing on feels like it just started…but truth is…we are actually entering into the 8th week and only have 8 week’s until we go on outreach.  The Sports DTS which consists of 8 students and 4 staff; is splitting into two different outreach teams.  One of which is going to Scotland to do ministry at the Commonwealth games and the other team to Brasil to do ministry at the Soccer World Cup.

The past 6 weeks have been packed with lectures, in this order from week 1- of the DTS the students have had teachings on these topics, Character and Nature of God, Hearing Gods Voice & Intercession, Father Heart of God, Lordship, Relationships, Spiritual Warfare, Worship and Identity, and this week we are learning how to have the Holy Spirit be a part of our daily lives.  It is awesome to grow as a staff member and to be able to learn so much more by hearing all of these things again and with a different perspective.  It is so much fun to see these students who have come from literally all around the world to see God move in their lives.  God has been showing me his excitement for his children that are doing this Discipleship Training School, he has really been showing me why he has called me back to Australia; I get to help them on their journeys to get to know God and to make Him known all around the world…So Exciting!

I remember on my DTS being the one that came over to Australia to seek God and be changed and do whatever he called me to do.  It is such a different perspective as a staff member, yes I am still growing but am helping other grow as well.  But to see the students where they were in their walks with the Father when they first arrived here in Australia and to see how much they have already stretched themselves and gone all out for Christ is so encouraging to see.

MENTORSHIP! It is so important to grow in Christ and to be held accountable.  I have been being mentored since being back.  It is so good to be able to share with a person who can hold you accountable; the things that you wouldn’t share with other people.  It has helped me grow in relationship with Jesus by being able to process things with my mentor and pray with him.  Doing so keeps me accountable and striving for an even more intimate relationship with the Father.

Outreach!

I will be co-leading an outreach team with another staff member named Lauren Frazer to Brasil in South America on May 31^st.  We have a solid team that consists of four students in which all are men.  They are Rafael from the Netherlands, Peter from Switzerland, Patrick from Australia and Dylan from Barbados, I’m sure you would most likely assume that they are from completely different backgrounds than one another…very true!  We have a wide variety of likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, introverts and extroverts.

There will be a mix of ministry types that we will be a part of.  We will arrive in Sao Paulo a city of about 11.3 million people on the 1^st of June where we will be serving the YWAM Kickoff crew doing evangelism, sports ministry, children-youth ministry and many other things we will be asked to do.  We will be there until the 14^th.  Then we will travel up to Rio de Janeiro a city of about 6.3 million people on the 14^th where we will be doing about the same work there as we will be doing in Sao Paulo until the 5^th of July.  After, the location is not yet definite…but we are most likely going up north another 6 hours to a place called Vitoria where the town is smaller yet, it’s has about 313,000 people. Now the ministry in Vitoria will be completely different.  Though we will be highly relational in Rio and Sao Paulo, it will be even more so in Vitoria because we will be in smaller communities and villages where relations will be much more valued. We will do more house visits, village ministries, speaking in churches, English teaching, service projects, options are honestly endless!  Overall, no matter what, we are there to make Him known and to bring people to Christ.

So to sum it up. The team as a whole is super pumped to go to Brasil and to shine the Fathers light and love on the people!  We have a crazy opportunity to go and to apply what we have spent so much time learning about during the Discipleship Training School.

Prayer Points…

-Team Unity.

-Financial Support for everyone on the team.

-Health and Safety.

-For God to soften the people’s hearts of the people we will come in contact with.

-For God to instill inside of us creative ways of ministry that would best make an impact in them.

-And for an overall massive heart of each and every person on our team that is ready to explode at the seams with the Fathers love for each person we meet!!!

Now for myself.

I do have a few needs that have come up during my time here. I am in need of some healing in my body, I have had a terrible jaw for about 2.5 years.  What’s issue? It is completely out of alignment, so much so that the back teeth no longer touch each other and that makes it difficult to eat. With that comes teeth grinding and pain in my jaw that sometimes even gives me headaches.  So with that, through prayer it has been getting better, but to be at full potential it needs to be 100% healed and God can do that! Please pray with me.

Financially I am very mediocre, I have been able to pay the monthly payment of $250. AWESOME! Thank you so much for the support thus far!! But I do need to see more monthly support come in!  Although I have monthly payments coming in, I do not have any extra funds that are coming in which I can intentionally save for outreaches, possible medical needs, other emergency needs or for any such things. I know that some of you may feel led to support me, please do, and remember you are not just supporting me, but you are supporting the Kingdom of Heaven!  If you have any questions on how to go about supporting me financially please contact me via email and I will answer you!  I will have a very simple Paypal account access on my blog soon.

Thank you so so so much for taking time to see how I am doing and what God has been doing in me and the people around me.  God is Love!  May He bless you with plenty!!  

Also could you please take my email address: norrismichael70@gmail.com, I would love to receive emails from you guys and answer back.

                                                                                                                      

Team Brasil 2014

Michael (me), USA, staff

Rafael, Netherlands, student

Dylan, Barbados, student

Patrick, Australia, student

Peter, Switzerland, student

Lauren, Australia, staff

Thank you so so so much for taking time to see how I am doing and what God has been doing in me and the people around me.  God is Love!  May He bless you with plenty!!  

Also could you please take my email address: norrismichael70@gmail.com, I would love to receive emails from you guys and answer back.

                                                                                                   

                                                                                      Sincerely, Michael G. Norris

New Beginings-Sports DTS 2014

       Hello friends and family, first off thank you so much for your support through both prayer as well as financially.  You are truly amazing people and I am thoroughly excited to call you my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let me just remind you and tell those of you who are not aware of what you are a part of by supporting me-exactly what you are a part of by doing so. 

       You may wonder, why did Michael even need to go over to Australia 5 weeks before the DTS started?  I have heard mixed ideas on why that might be, one of them being…Vacation.  That is not a true fact. In the past 5 weeks we have been preparing heavily.  We have been a part of many lectures, for the first 2 weeks the lectures were called TAA.  This is governmentally required for us on the Basic Leadership School to do in order to be able to assess students on their DTS, we also learnt things about different learning styles and how to work with them and adaptability through it, Health and Safety, First Aid; we also consumed much homework to show competence in this.  In the 2 weeks after that, we had Basic Leadership School lectures, these were structured more toward personal growth and development.  We had many biblical based teachings helping us learn how to be mentors, how to love others like Jesus calls us to, how to lead worship and intersession prayer and even time management skills and figuring out how to structure everything in the best way possible; these being just a few things.  The following week we did things together as a sports staff team, we spent time praying over each student and getting words for them, preparing who would take on each task during the school, planning for weeks ahead and things such as cleaning their dorms and preparing their rooms as well.  We also spent a weekend getting to know each other better, we went to the beach and chilled, shared testimonies, sang karaoke and got some awesome Mexican food as well.

From left to right: Raymond-Vanuatu, Danielle-Canada, Jeff*school leader-Canada, Lauren-Australia, Me-USA

Staff Retreat-Sunshine Coast

Intense Karaoke Night-Jeff and I

       So there you have it, you have officially met the Sports DTS Staff of 2014.  We will be there along the way of the DTS helping each and every student grow in their relationships with God.  They will be mentored, prayed for and with, pushed in many ways, encouraged and assessed.  After 4 months of growth, the team will separate and go separate ways to different nations to spread the word of God in many amazing places and challenging situations.  2 leaders will be chosen to go to each location and will lead their team together. When I find out more information I will let you know exactly what this will look like, locations, teammates, co-leader of mine, etc....
       To step more onto a personal level, I would like to share a bit about my personal growth in the time that I have been back.  God has been really speaking to me more and more, he has been showing me more revelation of who he is and who I should make him be in my life no matter the circumstance and how hard things are; because then it is then when things begin to get easy.  God calls us to lean on him and not try to use our own strength and understanding, it just won't work no matter how hard we want it to.  God is our Father-He is LOVE, apart from him nothing else matters to me; of course family and friends matter to me, but without Him I have got nothing at all.  He has just revealed to me that I need to 'stand firm in who He has called me to be and to rely on him in everything. 'This verse was given to me by a friend of mine who felt lead to share it with me.

     
       Joshua 1:5-9 ESV

 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

       My passion for Christ is just unbelievable, I never want to let it become less in any way.

Be ready for some crazy stories of what God will do in peoples lives I am able to touch through Christ as well as major breakthroughs in my own life including healing, healing in my jaw in which I have had issues with for over 2 years.  It says in Psalm 37:4 that if you "Delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart."  I believe that in time I will be healed of this ailment and be set free from pain and discomfort of my jaw.  It is a desire that it would be gone, and if i am delighting in my Lord I believe He will give me this desire. 

Prayer Requests:

*That God would set me free of the Jaw issue.

*To grow in his heart that he has for this DTS and the students involved in it.

*That He would continue to reveal and show me the paths he has for me to take in this life both on this BLS and after.

*God would keep providing me with supporters and financial aid in order to keep doing what he has called me to do.

       Thank you as always for taking your beautiful time to stop and read and to invest into what God is doing, it is phenomenal what God is doing and is going to continue to do, I am so excited to be apart of it.  If you feel lead to donate financially to me and what God is doing here, please let me know this.  There are many ways to do so and I can tell you how to go about it, just email or Facebook me and I will let you know.

                                                                                   God Bless You,

                                                                                                              Michael G. Norris