No Shave November

Beardage update... Week 3...

Week 2 of No Shave November
Week 1 of No Shave November

Well im back from the DNA conference, and it was unreal!!! we went out 3 hours from London to a base called the Kings Lodge, it was huge! there were 250+ people there from all different bases around the UK... one team from Scotland, and another from Whales, then the rest from within England... The speakers were all from the Stated, and the worship team was from Denver... my respect for YWAM grew so much, and i learned so much more about the organization... honestly i would reccomend YWAM to anyone and everyone... i have found so much growth through lectures and speakers... i was so suprised to learn exactly how much they actually do around the world... its unbelievable... but im not getting paid to plug YWAM on here... well im not getting paid at all... but if anyone is interested, please, please ask me, because i would love to even just tell you more of what its about... and i have this cool manual that defines all the bases... anyways...

The speakers for the week were the founder of YWAM Loren Cunningham, and his wife spoke one morning from Hawaii over a program called "genesis", the vice president of the University of the Nations David Hamilton, a man named Lynn Green, and the leader of the Denver bases Peter Warren... They were unreal, through them God revealed so much to me, and really instilled into me alot of great values and made me think alot!! Those guys have some UNREAL stories of how God has worked... i was in such aw of the power of God this last week...


The Kings Lodge...

The conference was held at the base, outside in a huge tent... the base could hold about 200 people, so we went and slept in a church every night... i guess its great missionary training... very hard floors!


One of the nights Jose let me pull up the van when i offered it to him... then after that i kinda just stayed in the drivers seat and he told me to drive to the church... so i very illegally drove my first time in England... and to make it a tad worse my Canadian liscense expired on October 8th last month... so im really not allowed to drive anywhere... but the po lice didnt get me so we're good... this thing was huge too, a 17 passenger van, plus right hand drive (wasnt bad) and left hand side of the roads... i flipping love all the round abouts here!! people actually know how to drive here!!


after that escapade, i had been waiting all week to play football... i had my boots on my bag all week and nothing had happened... but on thursday one of the dts's started a match and i joined up... we ended up losing, but i put 2 in for our team, and got really injured while doing it... my ankle is really sore and i have a sweet limp... the ground here is sooo soft, its so different than home... plus all the moisture it makes it so slippery... the grass was so wet and me and a buddy andy decided to do belly slides... i was the only one who ended up doin it, and it was epic... although i immediately regretted doing it as i was soaked...

i think this next weekend i will be going to the Harpenden base (where all the footballers were from)... i made alot of friends at that base, two guys from Calgary, a girl from ottowa, two girls from Salt spring island, a girl from the states somewhere, another girl and a guy from england, and a guy from whales... theyre all a blast! so i think im gunna head to their base on saturday for a lecture on Islamic culture, then hang out for the evening, and sunday go to church with them and then play a football match in the afternoon... so im really stoked to go there...

this weekend has been pretty laid back, yesterday (saturday) i just hung around home, cause im on weekend duty... so i cleaned the house and we made food and just relaxed... this morning we got us and went to church... i played bass for worship which was so much fun!! then we made lunch, and im about to make spagetti bolognase for dinner!! tomorrow we have what YWAM'ers call a "love feast"... its pretty much a pretty name for a YWAM party... we have to come in costume and there are a bunch of people comming to our base for it... so that should be so much fun...

this next week were back into our lecture phase, then just over a month until im home for christmas... im very excited to come home and see everyone!! i only have about 10 days at home, so im gunna try my best to see everyone... il think ill just start taking bookings... that sounds very conceeded... but take it as you will... after my christmas break, i come back here, then take off to Italy to live for two months... im so excited for that!! Flip ITALY!!!

so that brings you all up to date on my life until today... im having a great time and learning sooo much... i think i have changed a lot too! i guess you all will be able to tell me right? well until the next update, i love you all and God Bless!!!

Bretton...

Love?

Can't eat
Can't sleep
Can't cope,
There's pain

Old thoughts
Old dreams
Old hopes,
In vain

The love I give
Does not reflect
One option left,
Move on

Captivated
By words once said
I prayer one prayer,
Stay strong

The pain endured
The months that passed
I know my strength
Has grown

And now my Lord
For what You've said
I'll follow what
You've shown

My comprehension
Cannot compare
To what You've planned
For me

Through pain, through hurt
My eyes have opened
And now my God
I see

New thoughts
New dreams
New hopes
Restored

My faith
Surrendered,
Your plan
My Lord

Today God brought me complete healing... In my Heart, my Mind and my Spirit... He brought forgiveness to my Heart, and turned it into Love... I am so grateful and credit it all to Him... This is a poem I wrote about a month and a half ago, just really describes all my feelings, and how God had started to heal me, and now has! He is really changing me a lot! I feel so many new aspirations, and feel like God has revealed so many aspects of my own Heart to me... And now I choose live in complete faith, surrendering all to Him... God is so good!!1!

Well plans changed, not sure if ill be going on that morning run... the weather got, well... snowy... yeah theres about an inch of snow on the cars outside... thats right dreadmonton... you won... but only this time...

Mmhm? Love?

Well i think this post is long over due... its been a while... i kinda feel bad, but oh well, theres only 6 followers hahaha... but seriously... lets get down to the nitty gritty... well things are going great!!! i am falling more in love with God than ever and just really finding out what TRUE LOVE is... its so cool... our classes lately have been so intense... this week is called the "plumb line" week... a plumb line is what some old school builders use to make walls... you have a string with a large lead weight on the bottom and it hangs in a straight line... i actually used one in Guatemala almost every day... so it ensures you have your walls built straight... this week focuses on the walls of your heart, and life... how you have built them, and who has influenced you to build them this way... its really cool... i am learning so much about myself that i didnt know... and i thought i knew myself pretty good... but its very humbling... i am learning alot about the character of God too... it is so awesome... so after this intense week, i have weekend duty, which is just hanging out at the house and making sure everything gets cleaned up etc... but me and joanna got a good deal, on sunday we as a group are going on a retreat, so i only have one day of duty! woot woot!! which brings me to my next point...

on sunday we as a group are going on a retreat... (side note, sorry if my lack of punctuation, or over use of "..." offends you, but i hate taking the time to make it all swell)... so we are going to a base in England, outside London called The Kings Lodge for a week... the heads of YWAM are coming to speak, and its supposed to be unreal!!! so im so stoked for that...

on another note, update wise, recently i have been very involved with the musical side of things here... last week i lead worship, which was challenging, cause the band isnt very tight, but it was humbling and stretched me... so im thankful for that... but im playing bass and acoustic and singing lots... really working on the guitar and vocals... also i have been writing quite a bit lately... mostly lyrics, but i love it... its very cool that stuff can come out of me in the form of a song... i think im gunna start recording songs (prob not mine yet) and maybe put them up some where... we shall see...

two weeks ago me and Jose (the leader of the YWAM) went out and trained a local keeper... he was rubbish... but Jose helped him alot (Jose is an ex-pro football keeper) so that was fun... i havent been playing much out here, but im bringing my boots on the retreat cause i guess they have a football pitch there... cross you fingers :)

i have been (trying) regularly attending the hillsong church here... i really love it... the worship is so great and the speakers are always unreal... i just love the atmosphere there and i fit in to the age demographic very well... also it is the closest place around here i have found to my home church, worship and preaching wise... very un-reserved... which i love!! i have found myself lately trying to push my boundaries of faith, and question why i know what i know... which is really neat to me, cause it gives me new ambitions and aspirations...

last saturday i DJ'd a 15 year olds bday party... YEEEHAAAWWWW!!! but really it was fun... on of the YWAM familys daughter turned 15, and in Argentina (where there from) they have their "sweet 15" rather than 16... so they came to me cause at the time i had over 3000 songs and asked me to help out... hense the picture at the top... (yeah kinda late for an explination) but i basically just ran the whole night off my mac and my ipod, we had another laptop in there later for the Argentenian music... but it was really cool... since then i have had a strong conviction about my downloaded movies and music... i had like 25+ movies on my computer (even ones that are just in theatres) and like i said 3000+ songs... but reading the book of Exodus, God really laid on my heart the commandment "Do not steal"... i realized that i had made exceptions, and that wasnt cool... so theyre all gone, sadly... cause i had some good stuff... but its for a better cause right?

heres a pointless note, we got reassigned work duties, where last month i was in the "garden" (backyard) but now im cleaning one of the bathrooms... that in itself pushes my boundaries... but i actually like it... which is weird... its really pretty simple... cause i do it everyday so it never really has time to get dirty...

pointless note #2, for some weird reason theres fireworks outside my window... last night too... oh london...

i have learned alot of dicipline in my life here... even sleeping patterns... seriously, who know this Bretton that goes to sleep at 8:30... thats right, he never existed before... but i like getting up early, and tommorow im gunna run to this amazing park by the house and just go read... maybe ill bring my camera and take a few pics... who knows? right? no?

overall im really happy here... this is so right in life right now... there is always battle being fought, but theres also alot of healing too... i am so content and cant wait for what tomorrow brings... however, i miss home terribly... not really dreadmonton specificly, but i miss my family, and all my friends... but dont feel sorry for me, cause i live in a house maybe a bit smaller than my home in edmonton, and theres 15 people here, actually 17 at the moment... so i get my fair share of interaction... ITS FUN! F-U-N! and its raining! hard! I LOVE LONDON!!

this is a long post, i just realized it... im trying to get everything in on one post so i dont have to do a second "clean up" post... hey i just made my text pink! neat!

well i think ill bid you loyal readers adu, the mustache is gone, although everyone was encouraging me to shave something else... but i think instead ill take part in "No Shave November" so ill get some interesting pics up of that... but until then, i love you all and talk to you soon!

Bretton...

I
HAVE
A
MOUSTACHE!!!!
!!1!

Moustache?

well i have a mustache... yeah seriously... i figured im making some big changes in my life, so why not try out a moustache? well not really... tonight i got a little hair cut, and last night we watched Nacho Libre, and i told all the girls i was gunna shave a moustache... so i did when i got my haircut... but anyways...

since my last post, things have been awesome... ive been out a few times kicking the football around, seeing more and more of London and just overall loving this place... also i am learning alot of dicipline in my life... thats one of the huge changes i am making... ive been out running in some parks, and gunna actually grab a gym membership for a few months here... also have a new hunger to read the bible... which is really really cool... and odd... cause before i never had huge ambition to read it at all... but recently this week through lectures alot i have really my had my "Christian" foundation shaken... not in a bad way... in such a good way... ive really been questioning not necessarily what i believe, but why i do, and seeking biblical proof... so i have had alot of prespectives changing and mind sets changing... AND I LOVE IT!!! God is such a good God... he is so Loving and providing... I am learning so much about Him as such a personal and Loving God... plus the Bible is crazy! the way i look at it now is so different than a few weeks ago... and i am so excited to read it daily, and grow closer with this unreal God i am learning about...

anyways... i am doing well... playing lots of music, singing lots and i think growing in both... im healthy (i think) and learning lots of life lessons... God is teaching me alot of patience living in a small town house with 15 other people... i think i may snap on someone soon, but we will see what happens...

yesterday was my birthday, and we had a small celebration here... they bought me a cake (strawberry somthing sponge) and it was soooo good... there was baloons and LOTS of singing... in three different languages... three songs alone in spanish... then they made me blow out the candles twice because the first time i didnt make any wishes hahaha... i got a few cards and a package from my family :) and a singing "21" pin... cause im 21 years old... right?

tommorow were going to spend two days at the church... theres a weekend camp that were going to put on for the local kids, and were staying there... so that should be interesting... then sunday we will be back for the morning service, then i think ill hit the gym and then go to the hillsong church in the evening... thats as far as i know ahead... oh i think im playing again in the worship band on sunday, they dont usually have a bass player so they were so excited to have me play... which was really cool...

but i think thats about it... im gunna try to get these up maybe more often... probably smaller ones... and maybe some pics if i can figure it out... until the next post, take care all 5 people who read this :)

love you all!!

bretton...

YWAM

Well I made it to the YWAM base alright... When I got to the base the homesickness started to set in a bit... I kinda expected it, only not this soon... The base wasnt quite what i expected, and mixed with exhaustion and a rough day i think it got me kinda down... the house is very small, with 15 people living in it... But i slept it off and remembered why i was here, and that i am here for a reason... we bummed around for the weekend and had a service saturday night welcoming us to the base... the worship was great, and actually led by an amazing singer song writer Marc James... he wrote the song "Surrender"...
finally we started the lecture phase today... im so excited for whats to come... i love all the other students here, there is only five others, so its very small and intimate... there is one other guy and 4 girls... the guy is from Argentina and names Ezekiel, two girls are from the states, Kim and Joanna, and the other two are from south Korea, Swan and Unkay (deffinately not how its spelt but how it sounds)... there is also another girl from Germany, Lara that we have been hanging out with, she leaves friday...
anyways, im having a great time, God is so good... and this city is unreal! i have been walking around alot aswell as riding the tube and the busses... that in itself is an adventure... oh yeah and today i bought a guitar! well a birthday present from my parents, thanks mom and dad! its awesome and i got a killer deal!!! maybe ill put up some pics if i figure out how... im really excited! i get to lead worship at the local church and for our home devotional times, so thats a blessing... wow i just feel so blessed to be here... it still hasent really hit me that im in London... but i remember whenever i step outside and see all the amazing buildings, also the accents kinda give it away...
we have a few options that were tossing around and praying about for our outreach... were praying about Italy, Scotland and Switzerland right now... so if you think of it please pray that God clearly lets us know where to go... personally im leaning towards Italy... cause its Italy... but we will see what God wants...
but i should get off here... im trying to get rid of my ridiculous jet lag... please keep me in your prayers, and thank you if you have been... God has really been taking care of me and He deserves all credit for anything in my life...
goodbye all and i guess stay tuned on here for updates... i think this is the easiest way...

love you all!

Off To London

Well everyone, i made it! after 6 hours of waiting in air ports, doing nothing and a total of 28 hours traveling (accounting for the time change) and being in three countries and two continents in the same day im here! it is gorgeous here, kinda chilly, not much off edmonton weather, but im loving it so far... after the jet lag kinda wears off me and a friend are heading into London from Huntingdon (where i am now) to hang out for a few days before the YWAM starts... i will keep this posted the best i can, but have been tossing around the idea of starting a blog... dont know the first thing about them, or really what one is... but ill figure something out... thanks for everything and stay tuned!

September 24th 2008