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Life on the Road

CTI 14:21

Written by Isaac Haaland Saturday, 13 April 2013 23:20

Most of the time when writing a blog I look to see what God has been showing me and what I have been learning from that.
Today, I wanted to show everyone a little bit what life is like on the road. This is from April 12th at 7:15 in the morning (I think that's what I say in the video).
I'll leave the rest to be explained in the video, although you will have to excuse me for the commentary as I was still mostly asleep.

https://vimeo.com/63987563

Announcing our Summer 2013 international partnerships:

CTI News Blog

Written by CTI Music Ministries Thursday, 11 April 2013 08:55

 

GUATEMALA    HONDURAS     JAPAN

SINGAPORE   TAIWAN    ZIMBABWE

 

 

WE ARE PIONEERING TWO NEW PARTNERSHIPS THIS YEAR:

  • We will be working with YFC ZIMBABWE for the first time since 1996;

  • After a successful pioneering visit by one of our fulltime teams last October, we will be mobilizing our first ever summer team to work with YFC in JAPAN.

Each new CTI partnership is the product of several years of discovery and development.  We are excited to be able to support the clear, compelling vision and strategies that each of these partners has presented for the expansion of their mission and ministry.

  

OUR SPRING PARTNERSHIP DRIVE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN:

Each spring as we prepare to train our summer ministry teams, we ask recent financial partners for their continued help in supporting global mission and ministry through the impact of music while developing Christian leadership and character in young musicians.


THE FUNDING NEED IS HIGHER THAN IN RECENT YEARS:

Responding to these new opportunities will make this summer more costly. In addition to increasing air travel expenses, the ground costs in these two countries will be high.  We are counting on this drive to raise the additional funds required for training these teams and supporting these partnerships.

 

We invite you to join us through a financial gift of any amount towards this need.

 

We hope you’ll join us in supporting these international ministries  through the impact of music this summer!

 



 

Overseas, all the way to Missouri

CTI 14:21

Written by Mike Wilkins Tuesday, 09 April 2013 16:53

We haven’t quite been on the road for a week yet, but we’ve been busy. We’ve been in one place and have been playing multiple concerts each day. Many of the rooms aren’t ideal for sound, and we’ve been getting pretty sweaty and gross through it all. On top of that, I’ve been sick for all of tour so far. It’s all reminded me of overseas touring, and for that I’ve loved it.

I only love all of these inconveniences because it reminds me of the reason I devoted a year to CTI: an overseas trip to Taiwan. But what about that trip did I love that makes me enjoy all this stuff now?

Something that quickly comes to mind when thinking about overseas CTI touring is all of the inconveniences: the temperature, the language barrier, the confusion, the busyness, etc. But in the midst of all that junk is the reason we’re there. The ministry of music as a means of sharing our hope in Christ is something that many have fallen in love with through CTI. It’s what unites total strangers for a few weeks in the summer, or for a whole year. It’s how summer teams can come back from their journey and talk about all of the challenges and struggles with nothing but a huge smile on their face.

Being with CTI stateside doesn’t create such a distinct contrast between ministry and everyday life – we’re used to all of the cultural nuances, we’re not as crazy busy, and we have more “things” to accommodate us. This, mixed with doing it all for a much longer time, makes it more difficult to have such a strong, fueling sense of purpose.

But that’s how “real life” is. We can't wait for the opportunity to be shocked into action and purpose by such a radical experience as being in another country. Everyday we should be radically trying to live out our passions and our purpose.

The past few days have reminded me to stay focused on why I’m here, and to not let little frustrations ruin something I’m working towards.

I won’t be going overseas this summer, but it was cool to have a little flashback of what it’s like. I can’t wait to train all of the summer teamers coming up for what will end up being an unforgettable experience for each of them!

Remembrance and Celebration

CTI 14:22

Written by Angus Yao Thursday, 14 March 2013 22:39

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Psalm 46:1-3

In my translation there's a footnote next to "very present" that says "well proved". God is our refuge and strength, a well proved help in trouble. 

Something that I've been thinking about this tour is the idea of constantly reflecting on how God has shown up in our lives. Constantly remembering and reminding ourselves that God's help is indeed well proved. In doing so, perhaps when life takes a turn and we find ourselves in difficult situations, we can still rejoice in God's proven characteristics. Instead of dwelling in temporary suffering, we can recount all the times where God has shown up and celebrate his goodness. 

As we near the end of our nine week winter tour, I find that I've settled into a bit of a routine for road life. Sometimes, it can be easy to forget why we're able to do what we do. A few weeks ago, I was praying that God would remind me what it was like when I first fell in love with Jesus, not a religion, not rules, but the person Jesus. Remembering that Jesus is why we're on the road, bouncing from city to city. 

I didn't think too much of the prayer until we were attending a chapel service at Colorado Christian University. It was a last minute arrangement to do some recruiting, but we were able to sit in on their chapel service which happened to be focusing on Psalm 27. For a large part of this tour, I've been focusing on Psalm 27 as a source of comfort and strength, so it was awesome to be able to spend a whole hour reflecting on God's strength and shelter. 

What was really encouraging, though, was the very last song they played was a song that I heard for the first time during my first missions trip to Japan 2 years ago. The trip that first opened my eyes to missions and the great need of the gospel across the world. During that trip I began to understand what it was like to be completely satisfied in my relationship with Jesus. To realize and fully grasp that Jesus is a great high priest that knows us, understands our weaknesses, knows our doubts, and sometimes our anger against him, but still loves us.

The song and chapel they played at CCU was just a great reminder of how missions needs to be based out of a love and relationship with Jesus. It was such a random, unexpected and small answer to a prayer, but an answer. An answer that, along with many others, shows that God's help is well-proved. He's proved his goodness in the past, present, and continues to prove that he can be trusted in the future. Sometimes what we need to do is remind ourselves, tell stories and share of his goodness so that we don't forget as we are so prone to do. Even the greatest miracles can be forgotten if we don't remind ourselves and continually celebrate what has been done. 

Would you join me in remembering and celebrating our God who is a very present and well-proved help in trouble?

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