Stroudsburg PA

On Saturday 21 August 2010 - 14:01:08 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

We woke up to the gentle sounds of Wal-Mart shoppers rushing around the parking lot. What a sweet sound to wake up to; almost as good as sweet song birds singing a gentle tune! We got some JO, said a prayer and hit the road. Next stop Stroudsburg, PA.

As we headed across Pennsylvania, we realized that we were passing by Hershey, PA, which is the home of Chocolate. We had to stop for a quick tour. We cruised through the Chocolate factory and Hershey store which was filled with chocolaty temptations, passed out a few tracts and then were back on the road. We drove for several more hours and then landed at our next RV park. At the park, we had some fun trying to back our new trailers into their spots, but praise God we made it without any major problems.

The next morning we got up, got ready and headed off to Calvary Chapel Stroudsburg to put on our School of Evangelism class. It was a small, but great group! Right after the class, we headed to the mall to share the GOOD NEWS! Most malls you have to keep witnessing on the down low because Paul Blart Mall Cop does not let you pass tracts on his beat. But this mall was much different. CC Stroudsburg has a great relationship with the people at the mall and they freely are allowed to pass out tracts and share the Gospel. That is AWESOME! We had a great time and had some great conversations.

Sunday morning we went to CC Stroudsburg and were fed by the Holy Spirit via Pastor Matt. It was a great message! After the service, we said "good bye" and headed back to our camp for two sweet days of rest. WOW, was it great! I did not realize how much I needed the rest until now that I look back and see how tired I was and how much better I feel today as I write this blog. The LORD wants to use us all for His glory, but He also wants us to rest. Isn't it awesome that the LORD lets us be involved in His work? But it is even better that we can rest in His grace!

WOW!

On Thursday 19 August 2010 - 23:14:49 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

Recently we celebrated our two year anniversary on the road for Jesus. Tonight, I was looking through some old pictures and was amazed how far the LORD has led us and blessed to see how much we have grown; both spiritually and physically. This picture of the Jr Agents is hilarious! March 2008 and June 2010

Headin East

On Monday 16 August 2010 - 09:15:48 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

We left Indiana and headed east through Ohio! Every new day brings a new opportunity to be used by God for His glory, so we were excited to see what the LORD would do next. Our next stop was Calvary Chapel Columbus, Ohio.

We made it to our campground and were getting set up, when it began to rain. I was trying to hurry and get camp organized, when I plugged in the power and received a jolt of electricity. I really love getting shocked, NOT! Then I went over and touched the RV and got shocked again, then again and again and again and again. Everything I touched shocked me. It was kinda weird, but we figured out that the power to that site must not have been grounded properly, so we quickly moved. I was wide awake from all the AMPerage.

After the electrical excitement, a thunder storm rolled in and we got a little more electricity flowing in the air. We had planned to get some outside work done, organizing the RV, but the weather stopped that. We make the plans, but the LORD directs our steps. We ended up resting; rest is GOOD!

Wednesday night, we put on a School of Evangelism class at CC Columbus and had a great time of worship and fellowship. Thursday, we met Bill and Tina Frey for breakfast and then spent all day shopping for equipment for our new offices. That night, we met back at CC Columbus for Outreach! A small group of us went to a local skateboard park, passed out water and the GOOD NEWS to all who were there. The LORD led us to numerous divine appointments at the park and we saw the LORD do a miracle in several lives as their eyes were opened to the Gospel. Pastor Dave from CC Columbus ended the night with prayer and we parted ways with our brothers and sister.

We had a long drive to make it to our next stop in Pennsylvania, so we decided to drive that night. We packed up, hooked up and headed out. We drove about 100 miles before falling asleep in Wal-Mart in an unknown town in Ohio. Nothing like falling asleep under the gentle glow of Wal-Mart parking lot lights!

Indiana

On Wednesday 11 August 2010 - 23:09:36 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

We left Chicago and headed south. The city of Chicago is very big and very busy. It seems like every single street in Chicago is under construction and the ride out of the city was crazy. We made it out safely without incident and were happy to cruise into the peaceful farm land of Indiana!

We arrived in Delphi, Indiana and were excited to see our own private RV park located behind the Wabash Erie Canal interpretive Center. The next few days were filled with many different activities that really stretched us. We taught five different evangelism classes at three different churches. Then on Saturday night we all came together and hit the streets in Lafayette, Indiana at Purdue University. The classes all went well and the outreach was awesome.

On top of the teaching and outreach in Indiana, our ministry went through a major transition. We have been praying for a long time for more work space and the LORD answered our prayers. We found a trailer manufacturer in nearby Warsaw, Indiana that made the exact trailers we have been praying about for the right price. So on Friday morning, we took a 90 mile road trip to Warsaw and bought two new 2011 trailers to be used as office and storage space. We were all so excited to bring our new trailers home, but that meant we had to sell two cars and a tow dolly to make room for the new trailers.

Saturday morning we woke up early, emptied out the cars, cleaned the cars and advertised the cars and tow dolly on Craigs List. Within about an hour the tow dolly was sold. A few hours later, the VW bug was sold and then Sunday morning Charlie Brown sold. Wow that was a busy 24 hours!

Sunday morning, we worshiped the King of Kings with Calvary Chapel Carroll County and then went over for some food and fellowship with Pastor Eric and family. We had a great time hanging out with them and then we went back to the RV camp and prepared for our departure on Monday morning.

We still had a busy day ahead of us on Monday. We needed to get the trailer brakes and lights wired and deliver Charlie Brown to the buyer. We got up early, got packed up and hit the road. We drove into town and parted ways as Dave drove their RV to get it wired, while Bill and Danyal went to deliver Chuck to his new home. On the way to drop off Chuck, a girl rear ended Chuck and damaged his bumper. We were afraid this was going to put a damper on the sale, but the new buyer (Roger) was very gracious and he agreed to still buy Chuck even with the new damage.

It was a very sad moment, when we turned over the keys to Charlie Brown to Roger. Charlie Brown has been such a great van. He has been used by the LORD to haul the Agents all over the country and take the GOOD NEWS to thousands of people. You are a GOOD VAN CHARLIE BROWN!

We spent the next few hours waiting for the shop to wire the RV's and new trailers. We were very blessed (AGAIN) by the LORD to be led to a Christian shop who gave us a great deal on the work we needed. We thanked our Brother in Christ who owned the shop and we headed out of town to Ohio.

We thought the excitement was over, but we were wrong. As we were cruizin on I-70 near the Ohio/Indiana border, when the James' RV had another blow out. BAD NEWS. Praise God, this time the blow out did not do any additional damage and we were able to slowly coast into Richmond, Indiana where we spent the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot. As we were settling in at Camp Wal-Mart, Dave and Deanna discovered that their battery on their RV was dead, so Bill and Dave ended their evening replacing a battery. It was a stress filled day, but trials cause us to draw nearer to Jesus. The next morning, Bill and Danyal got six new tires and we headed east to Columbus! We never know exactly what each day will bring, but we know that whatever happens the LORD is with us and leads us exactly where He wants for His glory!

Chicago, Chicago

On Wednesday 04 August 2010 - 22:26:00 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

We left the youth camp and headed for a short stop in Wisconsin Dells, before the Agents parted ways. The James family headed North to Wisconsin Rapids to get their RV fixed and the Chaffee family headed into Illinois to look at a 15 passenger van near Rockford. Over the next few days, Dave, Deanna and the boys bought a 2005 Chevy 15 passenger van (BIG RED) and Bill, Danyal, Natalie and Nic spent a couple nights in a hotel while their RV was being repaired. The plan was to meet up again at our next stop at Calvary Chapel Ohare, in Chicago.

Dave and Deanna arrived early, but Bill and Danyal barely made it. The RV shop had trouble fixing the POO tank, so they didn't make it out of Wisconsin Rapids until nearly 2 pm and then drove like crazy to Chicago and WHEW, barely made it to teach the School of Evangelism class that night. All went well at the class and we spent the night in the church parking lot. CC Ohare is in a busy part of town and we snoozed to the sound of cars and people.

We woke up in the morning and moved to an RV park south of the city, where we stayed last year when we visited Chicago. The next few days in Chicago were awesome. Friday night Bill and Dave taught IMPACT to the youth. Saturday we hit the streets in Downtown Chicago and Sunday Bill taught a lesson out of Philippians. We ended our visit in Chicago with some food and fellowship with Pastor Jeff, Moe and family. PRAISE THE LORD!

Video From Youth Camp

On Monday 02 August 2010 - 23:05:05 | LAN_THEME_7 Deanna Chaffee

Youth Camp In Wisconsin

On Thursday 29 July 2010 - 13:35:02 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

God is faithful to direct your steps exactly where He desires to use you! We had no idea what God had in store for us in Wisconsin, but we made the plans and He directed our steps. I had called Calvary Chapel Madison WI and talked with them about having AFC come and partner with them in Madison. We had actually set the dates and marked our calenders, but then God had a different idea.

The church leader that I had been working with called back and said they had to cancel due to a youth camp that they were attending at the same time. Pastor Jeff from CC Madison called the fellowship (Oasis Christian Fellowship) who were putting on the youth camp to see if AFC could help at the camp. To his surprise, Brian and Lisa had been praying for help. They had planned to make Evangelism the focus of the youth camp and were amazed that the LORD would send us to help. To make a long story short, Jesus had a Divine Appointment for us at Oasis Christian Fellowship to encourage, challenge and equip 30 students and counselors to share their faith.

It was an amazing time. We spent long hours before the camp preparing for the teaching and then taught 8 sessions to the youth on sharing the Gospel and living sold out for Jesus Christ. We serve an amazing God! We had so much fun. The camp started Wednesday afternoon with some opening classes and set up. Then we spent all day Thursday teaching, followed with a Romans Road Obstacle Course. Friday we taught classes all day, followed by a worship concert. Saturday we closed out the camp with a challenge for the kids to go back and engage the culture where God has planted them with the message of the Cross.

Sunday morning, Dave, Dee and Logan led worship and I taught a message out of 2nd Timothy. We packed up, said "Good-bye" and headed off to our next stop. To God be the glory!

Outreach in Green Bay

On Saturday 17 July 2010 - 09:33:06 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

We left Mackinaw City, headed across the Mackinaw Bridge and cruised through the UP (that is the upper peninsula for us tourists). It was a beautiful drive along Lake Michigan. We cruised through the UP, into Wisconsin, through Green Bay and then into another peninsula by Green Bay called Door County. We had a dual purpose in Door County; get some rest and Share the Gospel in Green Bay.

Our path had been directed to an amazing RV Park in Door County that had an awesome pool with water slides and all kinds of other outdoor activities. We spent our days off resting by the pool as the kids enjoyed the water slides. I must admit that I enjoyed them too! We played volleyball, tennis, miniature golf and the kids rode bikes. It was great to get some rest and let the kids be kids!

Thursday afternoon, we headed to Green Bay for an outreach. We went to Lambeau Field, and then stopped at a local restaurant for some food. Green Bay is not a very big city, which surprised us. The city is listed at just over 100,000 people. Lambeau Field seemed to be the biggest building in town. While we were eating, we were prayerfully considering where to go witnessing, when the LORD directed our steps. I asked the waiter for directions to downtown Green Bay, which is where we planned to go witnessing. He gave us directions, but seemed surprised that was where we were headed. I guess he assumed we were looking for someplace fun to go, so he came back and told us about Bay Beach and said it was an amusement park on the water with lots of stuff to do. We thanked him and thanked the LORD for using a man to show us where to go, even though I don't believe the man realized that he was used by the LORD.

We filled our bellies, headed to Bay Beach, prayed and hit the streets. We all went a different direction through the park and shared Jesus with everyone in our path. The park was filled with people and we filled their hands with tracts and their ears with GOOD NEWS! The park closed at 9pm, so we closed the place down and rejoiced all the way home that the LORD of LORDS and KING of KINGS used us for His glory!

Mackinac Island

On Saturday 17 July 2010 - 09:03:25 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

Last year when we were in Wilmington, NC we were blessed to meet a writer from Charisma Magazine who did a story on our ministry. Shortly after the article was printed, we were contacted by Pastor Ken Straight from the Mackinac Island Bible Church who invited us to come to the island to do outreach in the summer of 2010. It is hard to believe that it is July 2010, but it is true. Wow time flies!

The LORD used this invitation to help plan our entire 2nd Missionary Journey. That is how the LORD worked the first year and He has been faithful to do the same this year. He opened a door that directed our steps and then He filled in all of the stops in between wherever He desired us to go!

Well as we left Cleveland and headed north through Michigan to Mackinac Island, we had our first major roadside incident. Our motor home had a blow out on I-75N in a little town in the middle of nowhere. Thank God for AAA! We waited for AAA, got the tire changed and were back on our way. Of course we shared the Gospel with the tow truck driver!

We made it to Mackinaw City and spent the night in a local RV park before heading out to the island. Mackinac Island is a 20 minute ferry ride out in the middle of Lake Huron. The island allows no cars (or RV's), only bikes and horses, so we were blessed to stay in a hotel on the island. Pastor Ken met us at the dock, we parked our RV's in the parking lot and headed out to the island. The water in Lake Huron is amazing. It is very clear and reminded me of Hawaii. We enjoyed the boat ride and getting to know our brother in Christ.

We arrived on the island and were very excited. We had heard how beautiful it was, and it was, but we were more excited about what an excellent witnessing spot it was. The island attracts thousands of tourists every weekend and we were excited to see what Divine appointments the LORD had for us. We were also blessed by the hotel we were staying at. It was an old mission that had been converted into a hotel. Mackinac Island Bible Church holds their services at the hotel, so we were blessed with a great deal at a great place!


We got checked in and all settled in our temporary home. We passed out tracts all around the hotel Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night we put on our School of Evangelism Class. Thursday, we rented bikes and rode the eight mile highway around the island. It is a state highway, but there are no cars on the island, so it is actually a bike highway. It was fun enjoying God's creation, getting some exercise and sharing the Good News! Friday afternoon and Friday evening, people from the church joined us on the streets and we shared the Gospel with hundreds of people and had some amazing Divine appointments. Saturday, we hit the streets again and saw a miracle as one man came to Jesus Christ! Sunday morning, Dave, Dee and Logan led worship and I preached a message from Acts 9. After the service, we had lunch with the Straight's and then left the island heading for Wisconsin. We serve an AMAZING GOD! He led us to this beautiful place, allowed us to enjoy Him and His creation and used us for His glory; AMAZING!

Back in Cleveland

On Friday 09 July 2010 - 11:42:26 | LAN_THEME_7 Bill James

We left Upstate NY and headed west to Cleveland. On the way, we made a stopover in Erie, PA. While in Erie, the sky became erie and the thunder and lightning began to rumble and flash. All of a sudden the wind picked up and the trees started to whip. We knew that an intense thunder storm rolled through, but we had no idea how intense it really was. We lost our power and went over to speak with the park manager. While in the office a man came in and said "was that a tornado, it ripped my new tent to shreds." The park manager confirmed that a tornado had just ripped through the area, barely missing the RV park.

The next morning the power was still out and we discovered that the tornado had caused a lot of damage in the area. It had ripped through the area taking out the power, ripping down giant trees and causing complete havoc. We drove and checked out the damage and discovered that the tornado had touched down less than half a mile from our camp. Praise the LORD for his hand of protection!

We left Erie, PA and continued west to Cleveland. We arrived and set up camp in the church parking lot and prepared for a busy weekend with Calvary Chapel Cleveland. We had several classes, numerous outreaches and a Sunday morning teaching ahead of us. We were excited and prayed for the LORD's strength.

We taught our second evangelism class called "Evangelism 101" on Wednesday night and challenged the body of Christ to get busy for the end is near and people desperately need Jesus. Thursday was July 1st, Natalie's 14th birthday. We had a great day celebrating Natalie's life. We had three special meals that she chose and went to a the Women's Air and Space Museum in Cleveland. Natalie desires to be a pilot and she really likes Amelia Earhart, so the fact that the only air and space museum in the world dedicated to women pilots and astronauts is in Cleveland, Ohio was quite the birthday blessing! After the birthday party Thursday night, we had a sweet time of prayer and worship, covering the weekend in prayer and crying out to Jesus. Friday afternoon at lunch time, we hit the streets in downtown Cleveland. We had an excellent time sharing Jesus and one young lady surrendered her life to Jesus Christ.

Friday night we hit the streets again in downtown Cleveland and had an awesome night of street witnessing. Saturday afternoon, we went to Huntington Park on Lake Erie. It is a beautiful park on the water and the weather was perfect! We shared the Gospel with hundreds of people. Sunday morning was the 4th of July. Dave and Dee led worship and I taught at both services. It was a great morning worshiping the LORD. After church, we prepared for a big 4th of July outreach on Lake Erie at Edgewater Park. We got set up early and spent most of the afternoon and all evening sharing the Good News and giving away free hot dogs, chips and water. We ministered to hundreds of people and ended the night watching the local fireworks show. Monday morning, we got up, packed up and headed north to Mackinac Island!