Circuit Riders (Audio)

One of the best, and most freeing, nights of teaching during our time of the week came from Andy Byrd a YWAM staff member who helped start Circuit Riders in 2011. His message was on keeping the simplicity of the gospel. We put so much pressure on ourselves to do EVERYTHING in our own faith walk, but its all about Simple Obedience to Jesus, to wake up every morning and focus on God & what He is doing. Enjoy! AndyByrd - MessageAudio

We Are Circuit Riders (More to Come)

Alright, so as soon as we started this Circuit Riders course we knew there would be no way for us to do all the updating we had promised. So over the next week, or so, we are gonna be sharing some more of the teaching we received, stories from outreach, as well as the audios of all the sermons & some worship (once we edit them down to size). Thanks to all of you who have so faithfully followed our journey and sown into it, we pray you receive a blessing from the Lord, as amazing, & greater than what we received in our hearts from this past week. 

So the last that you all knew we were about ready to go out into the streets of Kansas City and did we ever. For those of you that are familiar with our hometown of Benton Harbor & St. Joseph MI we really couldn't have been sent to 2 better places over the 2 days of outreach. On Tuesday we went to Hickman Mills, which looks and feels a lot like Benton Harbor. A group of 18 or so of us from all over the globe  (Mexico, Canada, Germany, Korea, and all over the US from Alaska to Texas up to Michigan and Indiana) loaded into a 20 passenger van, which I was selected to drive because I'm 25 and have chauffeur license, and then drove to Hickman Mills. 

When we arrived to the area we got into teams of 2-3 and all went in different directions, most went into neighborhoods and basically went door to door stopping and talking to anyone who had 1 minute of time sharing with them the good news of Jesus Christ. If people wanted to know more, had more time talk or even made a decision to follow Jesus then our response was to pray with them/for them, lead them in a prayer of repentance, bless them in anyway we could whether just talking with them or even praying for physical healing right on the spot. 

My small group consisted of Kelsey (my wife), Ju-sook (a 41 year old teacher from South Korea who Kelsey really connected with at a deep level), and myself. Our group went the opposite way of the others and went to some of the local businesses in the area. Most of the people that we encountered along our journey claimed to be Christians, so when we met them we would ask to pray for them and would rely on the Lord to speak words of life and encouragement and perseverance over their lives. 

Our first stop was a local beauty salon. The sign on the door said "only customers welcome" but we said. "these people need the Lord because He has been so good to us." So we went in anyway. After we entered we got some stares, because here were 2 asian girls and a really raspy white boy (I had lost my voice) in an african american hair salon with about 12 people sitting around talking/doing hair inside. As soon as we entered I mustered up some courage with a little nudging from Kels and said "My name is Austin & my wife Kelsey and I are here from MI with our friend Ju-sook who is from S. Korea. And honestly we are here because Jesus Christ has radically impacted our lives and we want to share Him with you." Because of this we had the opportunity to bless almost all of the men, women, and children in the beauty parlor with prayer and encouragement as they pursue Christ and all that He has planned for them. We even got to pray for a woman who had hip problems and she said that after prayer it was feeling better. God is so good.

We parked our van at Joe's Tobacco in the background & the building
in the foreground is now a beautiful hair salon, that we shared the love of Jesus in.

Check back here over the next few days/week as we share more testimonies of God's goodness and mercy on our journey to become Circuit Riders.

First Day Completed - Outreach To Come Shortly

Well, a lot has happened in the last few days. In fact Kels and I have already completed our first full day of training and let me just say it was intense. Nerve wracking, sweat producing, and intimidating were only just a few ways to describe the madness/chaos that would ensue. As Kels said it was like they pushed us off a 100ft cliff into deep water expecting us to be just fine and not freak out. But it was so good. For our first session we basically did simple evangelism unto one another, granted everyone in the room is following Jesus to the best of their ability, but we still didn't know anyone, so sharing the simple truths of the gospel with one another was a little intimidating. 

Basically the simple gospel boils down to this: God is Holy, He is Love, and He is Just. We have all rebelled against Him, because even one sin is enough to separate us from Him and His requirement of us to be with Him is that we be made perfect not by our own strength but by the grace of Jesus Christ who poured out His blood on the cross for us. Nothing that we can do will ever get us close enough, only through belief and relationship in Jesus can we be saved. 

But the whole point is that this is good news, there is joy laced all through it because its not about us at all its about what He did. The lost do want Jesus, they are not opposed to Him everyone wants a King & friend like Jesus, but they are opposed to religion which can be defined as a detached knowledge of God that is void of the heart of God. (More to come on this topic later)

Last night Lou Engle came and spoke to us about the word Ekballo which is basically how Jesus told the the disciples to pray to God about sending workers into the harvest. That He would thrust workers into the world because the harvest is plenty but the workers are few. But in order to do this we need to have a passion for souls, that at all costs we would see the Lord's compassion for the masses in Matthew 9:35-38 to pray that The Lord of the Harvest would send laborers into the harvest. That we would have His heart for the lost so that He could receive the reward for His suffering.  

More to come soon (audios might not be available till later) pray for us as we are about to out into Kansas City in a few minutes and tomorrow at the same time to see the lost returned to their Papa

WOW.

We are shocked, absolutely amazed and incredibly blessed by all of you. Not only did we raise all the money needed to take Kelsey and I to the school of the Circuit Riders for 1 week in Kansas City. But the overflow of over 1300+ dollars is what is so fantastic. This extra blessing, as we have shared with you before, is going directly to Bound For Freedom to see this other portion of our ministry here in Southwest Michigan grow and expand. For those who have not heard currently B4F is invested in over 13 different freedom, life and hope bringing organizations around the world that rescue women, children, and families from the clutches of sex trafficking, poverty, child soldiering, and more all the while raising awareness for issues like suicide prevention, human trafficking, fair labor, and lack of education, dental care, & hygienic care. These extra blessings from you will be used to invest in more organizations like these that help bring freedom to people across the globe. Thank you so much for all of your generosity. We are truly blessed. May the riches that you have so generously poured on us be heaped upon you 10 fold. Keep checking back for more updates/posts from us while we are at Circuit Riders.

Sending the Bocks to the School of the Circuit Riders!

Written By Kelsey - Hello! As you all may know, Austin & I have been pursuing a fair trade & social justice movement through business called Bound For Freedom --www.boundforfreedom.org -- & are continuing to grow ministry in corporate prayer & the youth at our church here in St. Joseph. We have gotten into several fairs this summer & have a couple more lined up for September & October. So, we are excited & so blessed to have the opportunity to further the stories & causes we're partnering with.

One thing I have noticed after getting married & having settled here this past year without any plans to move or travel (which is something, in the Lord, I'm learning to die to) is that my desire to understand Who the Lord is, is not only showing me how little I know, but it's increasing my hunger for Him so immensely that I can't help but feel antsy & stir crazy at times. Don't get me wrong, deciding to move to Austin's hometown & settle awhile before heading back to Japan is something that has become so awesome to me. I love this place, I love the people & I love the beach! :) 

But this is all to say that that hunger to be further equipped for ministry & knowing the Lord even more has led Austin & I to apply for a spot as a student in YWAM/I-HOP's School of the Circuit Riders. This "school" is a one week intensive for those that hunger after the Lord & want to learn more. There are classes, speakers, ministry opportunities & a jam-packed week of allowing the Holy Spirit to move in our lives as well as those all around us. 

So, we applied. And last week on Austin's birthday, we got an email congratulating us on our acceptance into this one-week program, which happens to be NEXT week, August 11-16th!! We are beyond ecstatic to drive down to Kansas City, MO for six days to see what The Lord has in store, but we need to be sent! For the both of us to get further training in this, we will need to raise $1000 by SATURDAY!! We fully believe The Lord opened doors for this to even be a possibility, & fully believe The Lord will provide the means to get there. We would enthusiastically appreciate any form of support! We both are incredibly uncomfortable asking for financial support from people, but know this is what the body is all about. The school itself is $200 per person, the gas money for the round trip will amount to about $200, the housing & food expenses gets the rest.

Like I said, we are extremely grateful for literally any kind of support in this. Any money that we raise beyond the $1000 is going to go directly to our business Bound For Freedom

An UP side for all those that are moved to send us to KC is that there are perks to your giving!

50.00 = Handwritten artsy thank you letter from the BOTH of us.

75.00 = Artsy/antique home made soy candle made by me or an 8x10 print of one of Austin's Lighthouse Photos

100.00 = A Smiles For the People Toothbrush & a bar of SoapBox Soaps (LemonGrass, Lavender, Orange, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Spearmint, Unscented & Black that smells like tropical licorice) from two of our awesome partner organizations 

150.00 & over = Bound For Freedom TSHIRT (blue or gray)

To donate simply click on the "Donate" Paypal button to the left of this blog post that can be found on the blog home page here blog home page link and follow the instructions, don't forget to include which item you would like in return for donating the correlating amount (sizes, scents, etc.)

If you have any questions please call myself 317-473-2230 or austin 269-930-9330 or email us at info@boundforfreedom.org. We are so thankful for all of you and for what the Lord is doing.

We love you all so much, be BLESSED!!! Kelsey

Ps heres a little video about the school of the Circuit Riders, so AWESOME!!!

REvamped & Ready to Go

Things have begun to look a little different around this blog as you can see. My wife Kelsey and I are going to use this blog as our personal/ministry/business blog that we will do a whole lot better job than I ever did of updating you all on what is happening in our lives.  Since my last update, that in my mind didn't seem so long ago (only 7 months) that have absolutely flown by, a lot has happened.

Bound For Freedom (B4F) is up and running. Thank you Jesus, He is so good to us. B4F is doing local markets, shows and festivals to get to know our customer base throughout SW Michigan, get the word out about these awesome products, shed more light on some of the heart wrenching social injustices like human trafficking as well as raise money for our hopeful store front location in the future. We currently have 12+ different organizations that we do business with and sell their amazing products. You can find more about these organizations and B4F at our awesome website www.boundforfreedom.org designed by Luke Anspach who you can see more of his great work here LukeAnspach. Also a neat video made by Kelsey showing our summer of work through B4F.


Bound For Freedom. from Kelsey Maiko Bock | Maiko Media on Vimeo.

This year has been going really amazing for Kelsey as well, already she has captured on photo and video over 5 weddings & still has a few more coming up this fall/winter. It makes me so happy to see her doing what she loves and absolutely blowing her clients away with the amount of greatness, love integrity, creativity and beauty she puts into all her work. She doesn't do weddings only in fact she has begun to tap into the other wells of creativity the Lord has given her in these past few months. Her career in graphic design is being put to good use as she constructs the media guide for our alma matter Indiana Weselyan's women's volleyball team. Our house smells a whole lot more amazing since she tapped into making custom candles with vintage housewares (teacups, mugs, candy dishes, mason jars, etc.) and a plethora of scents and colors. I'm not sure how she finds all the time but also this fall Kelsey will be doing senior photos for some of the seniors in our youth group as well as taking time to chill out for herself by painting, sketching, and/or knitting. If you want to see some of here amazing work check it out at kelseymaiko.prosite.com. If you couldn't tell already, I love her and am so proud of her.

Well that's enough for today keep checking back regularly again, because we will have more info and updates coming your way very soon. Peace and Love in Jesus Christ - Austin Bock