Team get ready to head to the UK....Be Praying, plus pictures of the Rwanda Team

Next Tuesday a team will be heading to the UK to help with Creationfest. Please be in pray for this team and the event.

* Pray for good weather
* Pray for guidance as decisions are made on the schedule for the event
* Pray for God to guide Phil to the right speakers and musicians.
* Pray for the needed volunteers.
* Pray for accommodation for the speakers, musicians, and support staff.
* Pray for the Cornish churches who are showing great enthusiasm.
* Pray for God's provision for all the expenses of the festival.
* Pray for Megan as she plans for the ministry to children.
* Pray for the pre-festival Roadshow that will take place throughout Devon & Cornwall
* Pray that more churches would get involved with Creation Fest
* Pray that all those involved would be protected from spiritual attack
* Finally, and most importantly, please pray for God to even now be
preparing the hearts of those who will be attending the festival, for them
to be open to all God has for them.


Prayer Requests for CCFL England Missions Team:

* Pray for US dollar vs. UK pound to stay stable- no increase in prices
* Pray that God would bond our team in Unity of spirit, mind, and purpose-- that they would know us by our love as we let our love cover a multitude of sins
* Pray for finances to come in for team members and success of fundraisers
* Pray for safe & easy travels w/o delays and arrival of luggage
* Pray for a burden for England's people and revival in the churches
* A special prayer for Warren and Dave as they travel with us all :) We may have a couple more guys stay with us once we are there....
* Pray that the Lord would make our spiritual gifts come alive as we seek to minster...that we would answer God's call to divine appts.
* Pray that our team members would lead many to salvation through Christ
* Pray that we would come back forever changed...in a way that is glorifying to God and spurs each one of us onto God's call in our lives

Plus, we just got some pics of the Rwanda team. More videos will come soon and photos of the new park in Rwanda. It is now moved, set-up and in use. Praise God!!!!!




Please be in prayer for Pastor Nukuda & his church. They will be running the newest partner ministry of Christian Skaters in Rwanda

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Wow!

For us, it is never about numbers but for me this photo is inspiring (double click on the photo to see it in full scale) and has me in awe of all the seeds that where planted in Rwanda. Look at this sea of people who heard His word last weekend in Kigali. We'll be posting more videos and photos in the next few weeks. Next stop....Coban, Guatemala. Please be in pray for those the team will encounter during their stay and that the Lord will use each of the team members in incredible ways.

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Uli looks back on Rwanda

On the airplane......My mind is spinning out of control...tears are flowing with thoughts of dads, moms, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, killed because of an evil plan to control what I believe God had put together. Over one million people slaughtered in a hundred days, enough said.

How did this happen? Did it really go on?

All I know I visited with people who are still dealing with this nightmare. The problem is, it wasn't a dream but an event that left most people in Rwanda orphans. People don't chose to be orphans it's something that happens to them and they must deal with it. In some places, babies are adopted and will never know that they were adopted or they come to realize it later in life. What do you do when you've seen your mother and father murdered by the very people you lived with for so many years and have known you've become an orphan?

I was eating breakfast at our hotel and I noticed a women who never seemed to smile at all. I thought at first well she's probably having a bad day, but, this went on for five days. I finally got the courage to ask her, "Why don't you smile?" She told me that she lost her smile years ago. I kind of laughed and said well, "Were did it go?" She sat down next to me and looked into my eyes. "I witnessed both my parents killed violently." I asked her how she survived. "By the grace of God I was not found," she said, "but at times I wish they would have taken me too." She started to cry. I gave her a hug and started to cry with her. Jesus wept.......

I can't stop thinking about this. See, I was not ready for Rwanda at all...I just got back from Liberia with Chet Lowe from Calvary Chapel. I thought the whole time, Liberia was going to be the hard trip mentally for me. Physically, Liberia was hard because Liberia's infrastructure is completely destroyed. However, I felt a sense of hope with people of Liberia that I didn't seem to catch in Rwanda. I saw many traces of death in Rwanda. In Liberia there is a lot more destruction from the war. In Rwanda it is no longer visible. The crazy thing to me about Rwanda too is that in some communities you can swear your in Beverly Hills 90210....

If you want to learn more about the genocide in Rwanda you can watch the movie "Hotel Rwanda". I was told by many it was a good try to show the pain that these people went through. People are still trying to pick up the pieces that were ripped apart from their once stable lives.

Anyway, the most important thing I learned from this trip is people all over the world need love. The bible says it perfectly..above all things have fervent love for one another because love covers a multitude of sin...Even when people have suffered something as evil as a genocide.

I got to witness the power of love. Vic Murphy visited a reconcile camp that is home to thousands of people who live with the same people who are at first hand responsible for slaughtering there families. Vic spoke to a man who introduced Vic to the man who murdered six members of his family. That very guy reached over and gave the murderer a hug. He told Vic that without the love of Jesus Christ this forgiveness could not be possible. This was no show, this was the real deal! holy field man and a testimony to my world in a bubble that with the love of Jesus alone, anything is possible........

Uli

P.S.
That woman I spoke to at the hotel restaurant was named Hope, ironic isn't it.....

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More updates coming in from Liberia

This is just one of the many incredible posts from Mike Miller's blog. Read it here

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Heading home

So, the team is now on the first leg of the flight to Brussels. Uli is on the plane. Pray that Brussels & Atlanta give him little problems as well. Later today we will have more photos of the festival yesterday. But, word on the street was that the turn-out and responses where incredible. Andrew has a plan to invest 10 years in Kigali. We look forward to this on-going relationship, our newest Christian Skaters family and the mighty things the Lord had done and will continue to do in this area.

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Prayer Request

Prayer Request

As you know from our posts, we have a team is in Kigali, Rwanda with Andrew Palau. Today was the last day of the festival and many came forward when Uli shared the gospel. He said it was an incredible day of ministry.












Zac Sharing the Gospel








Pre-Festival the guys were able to visit the prisons and orphanges






Later in a crowd, Uli was pick-pocketed and lost his I-90 (He is a legal resident of the US for over 30 years, originally form Argentine). Pray that immigration would show grace and that they might allow him to only come in with a copy of the Green Card. He has been gone since mid June (Liberia, then Rwanda) and we'd really like to have him home. Also, pray for the young man who pick pocketed him, that the Lord may use this an an opportunity to change his heart and that he may be convicted to return the wallet.

Thank you,
Toni

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Festival Day 2 - Prayer Request

Ok it was five thirty when we started to hear these bad boys pulling up. Buses these big just don't exist here.I've never seen something like this before.This is telling us that it's going to be serious today.The devil has already been attacking our minds so please please church can you take sometime out to really pray for us...I am up for the gospel today and I'm looking at this at my window thinking it's 7:00am man the thing dosent start untill 12;00am.Well we are getting up now to pray for the day this is just crazy...I love you guys...

Uli (1st Peter 4:8-11)

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The Festival Begins

Today the festival kicked-off it's 1st day in Kigali. After reading the guys posts about Rwanda, I decided to watch the movie, Hotel Rwanda, on YouTube last night. It continues to amaze me all that this town experienced....1 million killed in genocide...lost parents, children, husbands, wives, murdered in front of innocent eyes. And, they still have hope in their eyes and the capacity to smile. If makes me wonder how it is that we have so much in America and still cannot find contentment.

The skate & BMX was instantly popular in a place where this sport has really never been seen. Check out the photos & video below:

Check out the crowds for the demo today!








Uli saying hello from Rwanda!





Adorable kid sporting a Livin It Beanie


And, another...


Thansk to Black Box for helping us to bless these new skaters!


Kids who will be using the park soon!



Vic Murphy on BMX in Rwanda

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More videos

Building ramps in Rwanda has been challenging for the team. Hand saws....nails instead of screws, but the Lord continues to provide workers and the tools needed. Check out the teams progress.

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Rwanda Day 4

Today is the team's fourth day in Rwanda. The festival starts on Friday and we are so excited to be a part of what the Lord has planned for this event. Today was a rather long day for the team as they waited most of the day for a generator, a skill saw and screws. I am not sure if they ever did get the generator, but God is good and He provided workers to help make building the ramp possible.

Here is a God story about this trip....
Two years ago we began talking with a pastor at CALVARY CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES named Pastor John Pierre Nkunda. He had seen our partner ministry in South Africa and asked if we could come to Rwanda and build ramps for his church. Each month he would email to ask when we would come, confident on the Lord's call to start a skate ministry. And, although we wanted to come and build, we had to wait for the Lord's timing. (We had no finances to make the trip nor buy the materials. We all have full-time jobs and families to consider as well.) Still, Pastor Nkunda was persistent. He even traveled to the Rwanda airport at one point to meet David Redelfs who was on a trip with the Palau ministry to hand deliver a letter asking us to come at one point. (We keep the letter on the office wall).

Fast forward to two years later, we receive a call from the Palau team asking if we knew anyone who would be willing to help with the skate end of the event. I asked what they would be doing with the events after the event, and they had no plans. So, we are happy to say that the Lord has provided ramps for our newest partner in Rwanda. We are awed at how the Lord worked and the faith of this Pastor. We are confident that the Lord will use this skatepark to do amazing things in Rwanda. Please be praying for Pastor Nkunda as he pioneers the sport of skateboarding and the first skatepark/skate ministry in the country of Rwanda.

We are also thankful for the help of his church with building today. GOD IS GOOD....all the time!

Meet Pastor Nkunda here:








Ramp Building







Zac's Labor Force


Much thanks to Jeff Pieper for being a HUGE part in getting us there!


Want to see more...
Check out Zac Archuleta's blog here

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Tuesday Post from Zac

"We wake up around 5am when the sun came up. We ate breakfast, shot photos, read Gods word, and just were overall psyched to be in Africa. The mornings are crazy cause as soon as the sun comes up its "GO TIME" for everyone here. People are singing, jogging, fighting, and just going crazy. I love it. Its sooo ALive here.

Random Thought: Listen to Hillsong Uniteds new album. :) Soo good!!

(CITY HOPE)So we meet everyone around 8am and hop in a bus to meet up with some people that are connected with Palau somehow. It was a really cool experience cause it was the first time we really were able to drive through the city. I had a smile from ear to ear the whole time. My first favorite thing of the morning was watching this lady sweep a dirt road. haha My thought "Do you know you are sweeping a dirt road"? Cool, our first stop is at this place called "City Hope". Its like an orphanage, but they house beaten women and pretty much whoever needs shelter. We showed up and kids started chasing our bus. It was soooo rad. They gave us such a warm welcome.
After meeting the directors of City Hope, they released us into the area where the kids were playing. They awaited us at the entrance. As soon as i walked through the gate, i was bombarded with kids hugging me, looking at my tattoos, smiling, playing, holding my hand, and overall just psyched that we were there. I stand out like a sore thumb also. haha This is when i started to believe that I was going to be ministered to! My heart broke for these kids but at the same time it was rejoicing for them because they all were so happy and had such child like faith! :) :) :)

Play time ended!! :( They brought all the kids in this room. Probably around 300...maybe not. They shared a message with the kids and then we were able to introduce ourselves to the kids. They were so quiet and obedient. Shortly after our intro, Elijah and I did a mini demo. These kids have never seen skateboards so us just doing an ollie or even rolling for that matter made these kids faces glow. It was funny cause Elijah wanted me to hippy hop (board goes under and i jump over and land on my board) over him so when he arched his body on the ground i decided last moment to coffin (lay flat on my board) and go under him. The kids were estatic!!

Lastly to end off our City Hope experience the kids sang this awesome song and danced for us! It was like a huge party. The kids were dancing so good...dang they have skill. ha I was dancing and having a blast. Soo amazing! We prayed and we're on our way. So sad...i could've hung there all day and played with those kids.

(Hotel Rwanda) We piled in the bus to go to "Hotel Rwanda". The real one. It was pretty intense. I didn't know too much about the hotel but was definitely excited to be in a place where so much history happened.

(City Tour) We meet up with the Mayor of Kigali and he sent us on a tour of the city with one of the people that works for the city. His name was "BRUNO". Yes, like the new ridiculous movie that just came out.
Bruno showed us the first building ever built in Rwanda. It is exactly in the center of the country. We didn't get to go in cause the are renovating it but i got a photo. Next stop was the site where while the genocide was going on the Prime Minister and 12 Germans (i think) were gunned down. That place was super heavy....Man, the things that Rwanda has been through is ridiculous. Thats why i don't understand why they are soooo friendly and are always smiling!!

I know that this sounds like a cliche thing to say, but AMERICA.....We have it sooo easy!! My heart breaks for this country. This is something that i think everyone needs to experience. It makes you examine your heart and put yourself in check. Soooo intense!! Thank you for following this blog!!

Staytuned!!

Zac"


Video of the kids at CITY HOPE signing & Dancing



A little history of Rwanda history, genocide site


Kids at City Hope


Women sweeping street

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Read about the festival here and more videos posted

Read the press release posted by Andrew Palau

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Day 3 Rwanda

The team is on Day 3 in Kigali. Check out these photos and videos of the trip. Keep praying for the main event this weekend!

Zac Archuleta with a street kid in Kagali....People are hungry here for Love only the father can give .....I thank him for this opportunity to be his hands....




Here's a photo of us infront of the hotel that the movie hotel Rwanda is based on.The manager used the hotel to save thousands of people during the genocide...this was a crazy day so much evil....... (Left to Right: Elijah Moore, Uli Frallicciardi, Vic Murphy, & Zac Archuleta)



What a day...we hung out down town and witnessed by doing small demos.we even stoped traffic because people were getting out to watch us...wow God is good..and to top it off we took motor bikes back to the crib....


Here are two fun videos of the guys skating in Kigali...

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Spoke to the guys around 4pm EST (10pm in Kigali) and a bit of Jet Lag was setting in. The guys traveled many hours on a plane, then woke up bright and early to head to some orphanages and jails. Uli was bummed that he didn't have the 1,000s of fingerboards to hand out. Unfortunately it looks like Delta will not be any help in getting the bag to them. They would not even refund the $200 charged for the bag, but instead emailed us a $200 travel voucher. Kind of bummed but God uses it all. Tomorrow will be a BIG build day, so be praying for a smooth build, for the Lord to give them an amazing night's sleep and incredible energy for tomorrow, safety, and relationships where they can share the Lord.

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Day 2 Rwanda

African mornings....so unlike Liberia we did not have the roosters to wake us up at 5.00 am but a group of running chanting Africans that kept on running around the block with horns and whistles.I wish we could start the morning like this in my neighborhood but someone would get shot.... so like it's 6:41 am right now and we are off to visit some kids.Zac and Elijah...getting the morning started off on a good foot.Vic and I woke up talking about the Lord.
More to come later today!

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