Every month as I sit at my computer to write, I struggle with the best way to communicate all that I see God doing. This morning I was reflecting upon Exodus 33: 12‐18 where Moses was overwhelmed with God’s Favor and deeply concerned that he stay in that Favor and please the Lord in all that he did. In the same way, I have been amazed at God’s Favor and feel much like Moses must have felt. Let me try to communicate some of the ways I have seen God’s Favor.
ISRAEL TRIP
Last Saturday, I returned from a 3 week study, planning, and training experience in Israel. While I often get tired of travel, I never tire of experiencing Israel. Two of my loves, learning and Scripture, come together there. Everywhere you turn in Israel, you learn more about God’s Word. After 3 weeks of study at Jerusalem University College, taking a course on the History and Geography of the Land… I can truly say that I have been deepened in the life and ministry of Jesus.
We also had some great opportunities to plan next year’s “Jesus on Location” training in Israel. Because of the ongoing success of last year’s conference in Israel with GYI country leaders (250 of them from 60+ countries), the GYI leadership team felt a high value in yearly “face to face” training with our emerging young leaders in Israel. Steve Hudson and myself, will each year gather about 45 leaders in Israel for three major objectives:
• Study “Jesus on Location” with emerging leaders who are training other leaders within their country.
• Gain face‐to‐face time to invest in these emerging leaders, centered around the making of disciple makers, Jesus‐style
Continue to gather these young leaders together to share best practices and learn from each other globally. Some of the closing highlights of my last week in Israel were:
• Training 40+ Middle East youth leaders in the Life of Christ, while it was being translated in Hebrew… a first for me! Imagine teaching Jesus in Israel to Messianic Jews while hav‐ ing it translated in Hebrew. From this event, I received mul‐ tiple requests to return and do more training.
• Spending the final week in the Galilee region… my favorite place on the planet. Watching the sunset over the Sea of Galilee with Mt Arbel in the background and reflecting upon all that the God of the Universe chose to do around this lake.
• Standing on Mt Arbel, reflecting upon how great of a place this would have been for the Lord to give the Great Commis‐ sion. While there are several “mountains” in Galilee, when Jesus told his disciple to “meet me at the mountain in Galilee”, how well this situation could have served in giving the Great Commission to the 500 assembled. (Matthew 28)
• Climbing down the front cliffs of Mt. Arbel.
• Seeing a model of a olive press at the tel of Hazor. Olives are crushed by large stones, and then the remaining skins are placed in bags with huge weights pressing the remaining oil out. Gethsemene means “Olive Press”, where the weight of the sins of the world squeezed drops of blood from our Lord as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemene.
For me, the Scriptures are rich with new meaning after “walk‐ ing where Jesus walked”. Israel is what many people call the “Fifth Gospel”. and it truly deserves that title.
SEMP... JULY 6-11 AT THE MOODY CAMPUS
With just three weeks left before we relaunch SEMP (Students Equipped to Minister to Peers), we are excited to announce that “all systems are go… and we have over 530 students regis‐ tered.” We are having to turn away any other registrations.
Will you pray for us for the following:
• Divine encounters on the streets of Chicago as students go out two by two to share the Love of Christ.
• For the 10 trainers who are teaching “how to defend your faith” (apologetics) and “how to share your faith” (evangelism).
• For safety and good weather.
• For the hundreds of administrative details in sending out students two by two… along with shepherding them through the learning experiences
• For evening worship and sharing times
• That God would call many of these young workers from the Harvest Field to the Harvest Force.
AROUND THE GLOBE... INDIA
One of our long term desires is to see an effective strategy launched in India for the training of next generation leaders in the Life of Christ. Steve Hudson and I are making plans this next January to take an exploratory trip to India to con‐ nect with our present ministry partners and determine some next steps in developing a GYI ministry focus there.
One of our strong partners in India, Abraham Sahu, is help‐ ing us coordinate this gathering. I had the privilege of meeting with Abraham this last month here in Chicago, and he recently sent me these photos of a recent children’s camp they conducted with over 8000 young people. Over 1000 made decisions for Christ… most of them from Hindu homes.
Will you take a moment and pray for Abraham and his ministry. With over 300 church plants, several orphanages, a Bible school, and many business NGO’s... they are still trusting the Lord for funds to pay for this outreach and are lacking about $7000 to cover their costs of following up with these young people. Pray for strength for Abraham as God continues to use him in a needy land.
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Buddy and his wife Edna went to the state fair every year, and every year Buddy would say, "Edna, I'd like to ride in that helicopter."
Edna always replied, "I know Buddy, but that helicopter ride is fifty bucks, and fifty bucks is fifty bucks."
One year Buddy and Edna went to the fair, and Buddy said, "Edna, I'm 85 years old. If I don't ride that helicopter, I might never get another chance." To this, Edna replied, "Buddy, that helicopter ride is fifty bucks, and fifty bucks is fifty bucks."
The pilot overheard the couple and said, "Folks, I'll make you a deal. I'll take the both of you for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say a word, I won't charge you a penny! But if you say one word it's fifty dollars." Buddy and Edna agreed and up they went.
The pilot did all kinds of crazy maneuvers, but not a word was heard. He did his daredevil tricks over and over again, trying to elicit even a peep, but still not a word!
When they landed, the pilot turned to Buddy and said, "By golly, I did everything I could to get you to yell out, but you didn't. I am impressed!"
Buddy replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, I almost said something when Edna fell out, but you know, fifty bucks is fifty bucks!"
After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, New York scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.
Not to be outdone by the New Yorkers, in the weeks that followed, a California archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story in the LA Times read: "California archaeologists, finding traces of 200 year old copper wire, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high‐tech communications network a hundred years earlier than the New Yorkers."
One week later, The Coon Valley Journal, a local newspaper in Wisconsin, reported the following: After digging as deep as 30 feet in his pasture near Coon Valley, Wis., Ole Olson, a self‐taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing. Ole has therefore concluded that 300 years ago, Wisconsin had already gone wireless.
An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one question final exam after a semester dealing with a broad array of topics. The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on his desk and wrote on the board: "Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."
Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair. One member of the class however, was up and finished in less than a minute.
Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an A when he had barely written anything at all. His answer consisted of two words: "What chair?"
FUN THINGS TO DO ON AN ELEVATOR WHILE BORED
• When there's only one other person in the elevator, tap them on the shoulder and then pretend it wasn't you.
• Push the buttons and pretend they give you a shock. Smile, and go back for more.
• Swat at flies that don't exist.
• Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside, ask, "Got enough air in there?"
• Lay down a Twister mat and ask people if they'd like to play.
• Pretend you are a flight attendant and review emergency procedures and exits with the passengers.
• Stand silently and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
• Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers, "This is my personal space!"
• Hold the doors open and say you're waiting for your friend. After a while, let the doors close and say, "Hi Greg. How's your day been?"
• Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce in horror, "You're one of THEM!" and back away slowly.
An accordion player is driving home late one night after playing a concert. He's tired and hungry so he stops at an all‐night diner for a bite to eat.
Halfway through his meal he realizes that although he locked his car doors, his accordion is in the back seat, in plain sight!
He rushes out to his vehicle but he is too late. The windows are already smashed and someone has thrown in two more accordions.
This 2:6 Group has been meeting for two years as a “test” group for the re-launch of Sonlife Classic in North America. At our last meeting we made the decision that we need to multiply our 2:6 Group experience. In November we plan to launch our group into five new Groups with 60 other youth leaders which we will personally invite. I will then spend my time helping these groups succeed.
What a joy it has been to see these guys impact others. One of these ministries saw over 76 baptisms last year, and another ministry had over 2200 teenagers attend the opening of their new youth facility. God supernatural Presence has truly been with us as we journey together!
Char and I again want to express our heartfelt thanks for your faithful prayers and support in helping us help Global Youth Initiative leaders raise up the next generation of young leaders. Be encouraged! God is working in great ways and much is happening to advance His Kingdom. We are deeply grateful for your continued prayers and support. We could not do it without your teamwork.
Support for Dann and Char Spader or the ministries of Global Youth Initiative can be sent to: Global Youth Initiative c/o Josiah Venture, P.O. Box 4317, Wheaton Illinois 60189-4317
ISRAEL TRIP
We also had some great opportunities to plan next year’s “Jesus on Location” training in Israel. Because of the ongoing success of last year’s conference in Israel with GYI country leaders (250 of them from 60+ countries), the GYI leadership team felt a high value in yearly “face to face” training with our emerging young leaders in Israel. Steve Hudson and myself, will each year gather about 45 leaders in Israel for three major objectives: 
• Study “Jesus on Location” with emerging leaders who are training other leaders within their country.
• Training 40+ Middle East youth leaders in the Life of Christ, while it was being translated in Hebrew… a first for me! Imagine teaching Jesus in Israel to Messianic Jews while hav‐ ing it translated in Hebrew. From this event, I received mul‐ tiple requests to return and do more training.
For me, the Scriptures are rich with new meaning after “walk‐ ing where Jesus walked”. Israel is what many people call the “Fifth Gospel”. and it truly deserves that title. 
One of our long term desires is to see an effective strategy launched in India for the training of next generation leaders in the Life of Christ. Steve Hudson and I are making plans this next January to take an exploratory trip to India to con‐ nect with our present ministry partners and determine some next steps in developing a GYI ministry focus there. 
Will you take a moment and pray for Abraham and his ministry. With over 300 church plants, several orphanages, a Bible school, and many business NGO’s... they are still trusting the Lord for funds to pay for this outreach and are lacking about $7000 to cover their costs of following up with these young people. Pray for strength for Abraham as God continues to use him in a needy land.
Support for Dann and Char Spader or the ministries of Global Youth Initiative can be sent to: Global Youth Initiative c/o Josiah Venture, P.O. Box 4317, Wheaton Illinois 60189-4317