ephesiansfiveoneandtwo

racism

2012-01-26T13:14:00.003+02:00

racism is still alive and kicking all over the world today. and its not just about whites vs. blacks...

you can download a pdf copy of john piper's new book "bloodlines" for free here.

reason why latvia is the bomb #19: smalkmaizītes

2012-01-18T11:58:00.006+02:00

BOOMSHAKALAKA!

i cant even remember what these little suckers are called, but you need to experience one in your lifetime. they are delish!

latvians do pastries right. baked fresh with just the right amount of sweetness. i had just eaten breakfast this morning and passed the store where they are made and decided to stop in for a mid-morning snack. ha! fresh, soft, raisin-y goodness all up in your faceplate! two for a $1. not too shabby!

movement

2012-01-18T11:55:00.000+02:00

God is growing His Church in latvia!

reason why latvia is the bomb #18: anna brooks

2012-01-11T13:09:00.007+02:00

its been a while since ive added a new blog post about the reasons why i love this country. i thought id start it up again with the most obvious reason why i love this country! reason #18 is my wife, anna!

i struggle to put into words how much i love this girl. i am so thankful for her! she has blessed my life more than i thought possible. and shes beautiful!!

she was born here. we met here. and we got married here this summer.

the funny part of our story is that four years ago i would have promised you that i would never marry a latvian. i remember thinking and telling numerous people that dating a latvian was not an option that i was even open to. latvia was too far from home and the people i love so much. plus, my original plan was to only be here for two years. anna changed all of that. things look a lot differently than they did four years ago. i look back now and see that God had a much better plan for my life than i did. i have family on both sides of the ocean!

youtube of the month: january

2012-01-08T21:09:00.003+02:00

LOL!

the fall of the soviet union

2011-12-26T13:46:00.004+02:00

20 years ago on december 25th, 1991; the ussr officially came to a close.

click here for an article that documents the gradual collapse of the soviet union; which had a tremendous impact on this part of the world.

the incarnation

2011-12-23T23:02:00.001+02:00

when heaven scraped the pavement

2011-12-21T21:08:00.007+02:00

God became man.

have you stopped to think about how wild of an idea that is? and that we celebrate that it actually happened? what an amazing day! Immanuel. God with us! we celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas.

a few more days left till the big day... in the meantime, check out this music video!

youtube of the month: december (special xmas edition)

2011-12-05T20:08:00.003+02:00

the christmas story... told by kids!

prayer retreat

2011-12-05T11:11:00.004+02:00

our team went on an overnight prayer retreat. nothing fancy, we just spent a lot of time praying!

we prayed together for the churches who we are working with and other specific things related to each of the ministries we are involved with. it was an encouraging time of fellowship together and focused prayer. the retreat happened a few days after anna and i got back to latvia, so it was also good for us to get caught up on what is happening around jv latvia!

rīga fusion zvaigžņu koncerts

2011-12-05T11:10:00.006+02:00

fusion rīga held their annual holiday concert this past friday.

it was by far the best fusion concert that ive ever been to or have participated in! new songs, skits, a better venue, a full crowd and lots of laughs. here are a few of the pictures that i took at the concert...

youtube of the month: december

2011-12-01T18:11:00.009+02:00

talking animals!

our trip: in pictures

2011-12-01T18:01:00.006+02:00

here are a few photographic highlights from a trip filled with highlights...

we're back!

2011-12-01T18:01:00.004+02:00

glad to be back in the cold and grey place we call home!

had an unusually smooth trip back. someone must have been praying extra hard for us! :)

we unpacked and had a few friends stop by last night. then we bundled up and slept for about 11 hours. got woken up this morning by the maintenance guy who came to turn on our heat! a verrrry welcome wake up call.

trying to put a dent in my "to do" list today. headed to the fusion rehearsal tonight.

that's all for me.

marriage on the road

2011-11-19T19:05:00.004+02:00

anna and i celebrated three months of marriage last week! pretty cool. we also realized that we have been traveling for more than half of our marriage. it has been a wonderful trip, but we both long to sleep in one place for a while. we counted and realized we have already slept in nine different beds on this trip! we appreciate the amazing hospitality we have experienced on this trip, but we will be happy to settle in our bed back in latvia. :)

youtube of the month: november

2011-11-18T08:27:00.002+02:00

this guy is insane!

grace

2011-11-15T00:59:00.007+02:00

what is it? how would you define it?

"grace" has become such a common word in christian circles today, that it has almost lost its meaning. most people would agree that grace is central to our faith as Christians, yet most of us would struggle to define what it truly is. i have been challenged by a series of sermons given by pastor tullian tchividjian of coral ridge presbyterian church, where he highlights different passages in Scripture when Jesus displays true grace. life-transforming grace. grace that saves... not the word we throw around so easily.

this video is the fourth part of a six-week series entitled "pictures of grace."

you can also download the audio version of the talks here.

check it!

my current jam

2011-11-14T02:43:00.006+02:00

just saw these guys in concert! legit.

"promises" by thrice

we have wedding pictures!

2011-10-20T23:12:00.005+03:00

you can preview them here or here.

youtube of the month: october

2011-10-07T17:24:00.003+03:00

AMAZING.

ready or (pause) NOT!

2011-10-01T02:22:00.003+03:00

just (almost) finished packing and heading to make a sleep. tomorrow afternoon anna and i leave on a jet plane bound for the united states of george w. bush. i like you! HIGH FIVE!

oh and check dis! my latest email update. peep game.

fall conference 2011 (cont.)

2011-09-25T09:55:00.004+03:00

its hard to know what to write other than it was one of the most powerful weeks of teaching in my life!

"Jesus is our model for life and ministry." this was a phrase that was repeated throughout the week and one that i have come to understand a bit more clearly. on the surface level it seems like a "duh" statement. but in practicality, is that true of my life? is Jesus truly my model for life and ministry? that was the question that i had to answer for myself this week. do i spend my time and energy doing the things that Jesus did? in the past i usually answered this question too quickly and said "yes" before taking an honest and in-depth look at my life, and more importantly, the life of Jesus! after a week of looking at what Jesus did, and what i do, i can honestly say that the answer to that question is a lot closer to a "no" than to a "yes."

but there is hope! the Good News for me is that the Holy Spirit, who descended on Jesus at His baptism and raised Him from the dead, is available to me as a child of God! through the dependance on the Spirit, and obedience to the Father, i can begin to live as Jesus did. it is the highest calling possible to imitate Jesus, but it is what we are called to do as His disciples!

someone said it well this week, that most of us would agree that Jesus is our model for life and ministry, yet we spend most of our time reading about everyone else but Him to determine how we should live and minister. i was challenged this week to take a closer look at the life of Jesus in the Gospels and to fall more deeply in love with Him!

dann spader, of global youth initiative and sonlife ministries, was one of the guest speakers at our conference. i am very thankful for this brother and his passion for Jesus! one of the best teachers i have ever sat under in my life.

our latvia group at conference

... and the other cool thing is that i am home again with my wife! praise Jesus!

fall conference 2011

2011-09-18T19:01:00.003+03:00

a bunch of us will pack into two vans in a few hours and make the drive to czech for our annual josiah venture fall conference.

usually this an exciting time... but this time i am feeling a bit sad. anna is not making the trip with us :( and this will be our first time apart since the wedding. i would appreciate your prayers for hers and my heart over the next week and that it would be a blessed time for both of us... and that the week would go quickly!

the apartment 2.0

2011-09-15T09:10:00.004+03:00

while my family was in latvia, they helped to clean and rearrange my apartment to make it a bit more "homey" and welcoming for anna. after we finished, it felt like i was on one of those tv home makeover shows because i was surprised how much i liked how it turned out!

we also had a lot of friends and family who gave us verrrrrrrrry generous wedding gifts. this allowed us to buy a few things that we needed for the apartment, like a wardrobe and drawer set for anna, and a bed that we both fit on! such a blessing!!!

we are still not 100% unpacked and settled in yet, but this will give you a good idea of what our apartment looks like now.

when i moved in (entryway):

now:

when i moved in (bedroom):

now:

when i moved in (living room):

now:

when i moved in (kitchen):

now:

homosexuality

2011-09-15T08:49:00.002+03:00

just read an interesting article on usatoday.com about new research that has been done on homosexuality.

you can read it here; "does it matter if only 1.4% of people are gay?."

life themes

2011-09-13T08:11:00.012+03:00

have you ever noticed when your life seems to take on a certain "theme" for an extended period of time? when everything that youre reading happens to be talking about the same general topic? when conversations seem to steer themselves to that topic?

well, i do. for example, in college i seemed to always be reading, hearing and studying about God's faithfulness. as this was happening, i would see His faithfulness on display time and time again in my life and in the lives of people around me. this "theme" continued for several years. the craziest thing is that now i actually believe it to be true. God is faithful. it took me a while, but i know that now. not solely in an intellectual way. but through experience.

ever had that happen? i may be alone in this. it may mean that im just a slow learner, but it seems like this is how God often teaches me. but this is the type of teaching that causes real life change. i see life very differently after a "theme" passes. i am changed.

lately, it seems like i have had more "themes" on the burner than normal. i guess i have unknowingly graduated to spiritual pre-school. and here they are:

God's goodness and care for His children
though often hard to understand, God's timing is always perfect
the spiritual battle that we are born into and Jesus' victory over it
lies that we believe to be true

i say all this to ask you, what is God currently teaching you?

i would love to hear about your "themes." feel free to share your thoughts and comments.

im off to bed.

my current jam(s)

2011-09-10T17:00:00.004+03:00

a good friend of mine just sent this one to me...

and heres an oldie but goodie...

youtube of the month: september

2011-09-05T08:18:00.003+03:00

i cant even imagine having this type of strength...

august 2011 update

2011-08-30T16:12:00.008+03:00

you can read my latest supporter update here.

THE BIG DAY

2011-08-13T10:09:00.002+03:00

it's 11:05 am. my dad and brothers are here at my apartment. just took a few pictures with andris. i get married in a few hours!

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh by the way...

2011-08-10T23:35:00.005+03:00

i'm getting married to the girl of my dreams on saturday! :)

www.joelovesanna.com

youtube of the month: august

2011-08-09T07:56:00.002+03:00

in honor of my wedding in a few days, i offer this...

rīta zvaigzne camp

2011-07-21T01:15:00.005+03:00

what an amazing week!

we had a lot of fun and saw God change many lives this week! here a few pictures from the camp...

youtube of the month: june & july

2011-07-07T23:54:00.002+03:00

DANG. last month was so crazy that i forgot to put up a youtube video.

heres an "oldie but goodie" to make up for the mishap...

(the first time i saw this i laughed so hard that i almost threw up)

and another one on the musical tip...

camps, round two

2011-07-07T23:48:00.003+03:00

we head out to our second group of camps tomorrow. my (stateside) home church and my (latvian) home church are teamed up in a camp this week, so im especially excited for that! please pray expectantly that we would see God do amazing things in the camps this week;

rīta zvaigzne church (fusion camp)
matejs baptist church (fusion camp)
tukums baptist church (english camp)

kuldīga camp (cont.)

2011-07-07T23:45:00.005+03:00

we had a great (and somewhat strange) week of camp! thank you for praying with us. i believe God did something cool in our midst. here are a few of the pictures...

kuldīga camp

2011-06-28T00:08:00.001+03:00

well, we are done with our second day of camp. this camp has a great "vibe" to it. real neat students and team. praying for God to do big things!

heading out to our first camp right now

2011-06-24T14:43:00.005+03:00

please join us and pray that God would work mightily in our three camps this week;

kuldīga baptist church (english camp)
seminary church (fusion camp)
liepa united methodist church (english camp)

where will morning star's camp be this year?

2011-06-10T22:52:00.002+03:00

right here.

View Larger Map
Slampe, Zemgales vidusskola

youtube of the month: june

2011-06-06T23:10:00.002+03:00

poetry in motion

a wake up call (or text)

2011-06-06T01:20:00.007+03:00

we need your prayers!

i was reminded again today about the seriousness of the spiritual battle that we wake up into everyday (ephesians 6:12). i received a text from one of my team leaders this morning that their apartment had been broken into during the night and their computers and wallets had been stolen. stuff like this happens everyday all around the world, and most of the time we look at it as coincidence. but this morning i got the feeling that it was something else. computers can be replaced, but it just so happened that the stolen computers held most, if not all, of our summer ministry and national organizations materials on it. this also took place two days before the interns arrive for a summer of eight evangelistic camps. many people would shrug this off as coincidence, but after years of doing camps i have seen that it "coincidentally" happens way too often to be just that. it seems as if something like this happens every year right before our summer ministry begins. so please join us and pray that we would remain united and focused as a team and that we would continue to stand strong in the Lord (ephesians 6:10) this summer!

rīga lights

2011-05-26T15:32:00.001+03:00

dope video! makes me proud to live in this city...

joe & anna b

2011-05-25T10:26:00.006+03:00

click here to read more about anna's & my engagement!

osama bin laden

2011-05-06T10:25:00.006+03:00

i was shocked when i heard the news about osama in the stockholm skavsta airport. my initial response was relief that the search for him was finally over. then came the sobering reality that more than likely he was in hell at that very moment. there seemed to be some sense of "justice" in that, but not one that i did not deserve myself (ephesians 2:1-5 comes to mind). while waiting for my flight back to rīga, i was reminded of the finality of death and that it is a place of tremendous eternal suffering. that is hard to wish on anyone.

francis chan shared his thoughts on the killing...

as followers of Jesus, where is our compassion? mercy? love?

**disclaimer** i realize this is a extremely sensitive subject and that i am certainly not the person to make theological statements on this topic. just wanted to share my initial thoughts.

youtube of the month: may

2011-05-06T10:25:00.005+03:00

one of the most inspirational sports videos that i have ever seen...

"yes!"

2011-05-04T10:13:00.004+03:00

oh by the way, anna & i got engaged!

:)

more info to come...

G.O.S.P.E.L.

2011-05-02T16:24:00.002+03:00

just saw this video... thought it was definitely worth sharing!

for more on the artist propaganda visit humblebeast.com

resurrection day

2011-04-23T10:36:00.011+03:00

"I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said." (1 corinthians 15:3-4, NLT)

this is a day for TRUE celebration!

i shared a little this week with our fusion choir about what we celebrate on "easter" as followers of Jesus. i had read 1 corinthians 15 this past week and was struck by verses 12-58; that as "gentiles" our faith and hope rests on Jesus victory over sin and death. if Christ did not rise from the dead we would have no hope of the resurrection!

"And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless" (vs. 14).

our faith hangs on the resurrection! it is our only hope to be forgiven and adopted Children of God. without Jesus' victory over the grave we would still stand condemned in our sins (vs. 17) and could be considered the most miserable of all people because our hope ends in this life (vs. 19). if Christ did not rise from the dead then our 70+ years on this earth are everything, and we might as well "feast and get drunk, for tomorrow we die!" (vs. 32).

"But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again" (vs. 20).

the Good News is that Jesus humbled himself and came to earth, lived a perfect life, shed His blood and died an undeserved death in our place, and was victorious over sin and death! more than 500 of His followers can testify to this (vs. 6) and because of that we can experience fellowship with a Holy God on this earth and the hope to spend eternity together with Him!

that is a reason to celebrate!

"It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you..." (vs. 2)

amen.

where is the Kingdom of God?

2011-04-21T09:10:00.001+03:00

youtube of the month: april

2011-04-07T09:14:00.002+03:00

HILARIOUS!

the reaction of the kids tells me that this wasnt the first time they had seen dad dance like this...

my current jam

2011-04-06T11:53:00.002+03:00

download alert's "red opus .45 ep" for FREE!

http://humblebeast.com/alert-red-opus-45-ep/

estonians in lv

2011-04-05T00:22:00.007+03:00

what an amazing team!

our team hosted a team of seven estonians from march 25-27 who wanted to come to latvia to serve their "latvian neighbors." i was blessed to see their heart for Jesus and genuine love for each other and "their neighbors" to the south. we walked the streets of cēsis and valmiera and handed out 400 loaves of bread for free as a symbol of the love that is expressed in Jesus ("the true bread from heaven" john 6:32). over those three days we had numerous opportunities to talk and pray with people also on the streets of rīga and in the town of liepa. we even had one man who prayed and confessed Jesus as his Lord and Savior! amazing huh?! it was unbelievable to see the fruit that God brought through our short time serving together! something just felt right about it. i came away from the weekend surprised by how open people were to talking about God with complete strangers and challenged to not hide the gift of the true bread that i am freely offered in Jesus, but to share it wherever i am! amen.

will you join me in praying for our estonian brothers and sister? (pictured above from left to right: kirilin, kaur, andrus, innar, mattias, kuldar and mart)

FUSION

2011-03-25T14:10:00.004+02:00

please pray that through this ministry many young people would hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and respond to Him!

my current jam

2011-03-15T08:45:00.003+02:00

listen and try not to smile at 1:28.

youtube of the month: march

2011-03-07T22:57:00.004+02:00

this would be my dream "job."

total church

2011-03-07T22:52:00.005+02:00

our team just started reading this book together...

"total church" is co-written by tim chester & steve timmis. they are two english guys who founded the crowded house church-planting initiative in the uk and direct the porterbrook network. steve is also the director of the acts 29 network for western europe.

our team decided to study the book together after hearing steve timmis speak at a recent josiah venture church-planting conference. im only half-way through the second chapter and i can already tell it will not be an easy read. it is not a passive read. it is a book that needs to be digested over time. it has challenged my thinking on what the Gospel message is and how it is practically lived out in community. i am only 40 pages in and i would already recommend it to anyone who is passionate about the Gospel, community and mission!

you can (watch or) download audio of steve's teaching on "total church" here, which took place back in 2009 at mars hill church.

what are your plans for march 4-6?

2011-02-23T12:27:00.003+02:00

if youre in the area, it might be worth checking out!

here is their website for more information:
www.sexualrevolution.lv

youtube of the month: february

2011-02-04T13:03:00.001+02:00

pretty creative!

youtube of the month: january

2011-01-19T22:11:00.003+02:00

im not a big skate video fan, but this dude is INCREDIBLE!

"sk8 errrr dieeee dooooooood!"

the four loves

2011-01-13T12:01:00.004+02:00

just finished reading this book...

"the four loves" by c.s. lewis

a GREAT read!

if i was to rate it, i would give it "two enthusiastic thumbs up!" - brian regan

the whole book was cool, but there were two (rather lengthy) quotes that really hit me.

this one:
“For the dream of finding our end, the thing we were made for, in a Heaven of purely human love could not be true unless our whole Faith were wrong. We were made for God. Only by being in some respect like Him, only by being a manifestation of His beauty, loving-kindness, wisdom or goodness, has any earthly Beloved excited our love. It is not that we have loved them too much, that we did not quite understand what we were loving. It is not that we shall be asked to turn from them, so dearly familiar, to a Stranger. When we see the face of God we shall know that we have always known it. He has been a party to, has made, sustained and moved moment by moment within, all our earthly experiences of innocent love. All that was true love in them was, even on earth, far more His than ours, and ours only because His. In Heaven there will be no anguish and no duty of turning away from the earthly Beloveds. First, because we shall have turned already; from the portraits to the Original, from the rivulets to the Fountain, from the creatures He made loveable to Love Himself. But secondly, because we shall find them all in Him. By loving Him more than them we shall love them more than we now do.” (pg. 139)

and this one:
“Is it easy to love God” asks an old author. “It is easy,” he replies, “to those who do it.” I have included two Graces under the word Charity. But God can give a third. He can awake in man, towards Himself, a supernatural Appreciative love. This of all gifts is the most to be desired. Here, not in our natural loves, nor even in ethics, lies the true centre of all human and angelic life. With this all things are possible.

And with this, where a better book would begin, mine must end. I dare not proceed. God knows, not I, whether I have ever tasted this love. Perhaps I have only imagined the tasting. Those like myself whose imagination far exceeds their obedience are subject to a just penalty; we easily imagine conditions far higher than any we have really reached. If we describe what we have imagined we make others, and make ourselves, believe that we have really been there. And if I have only imagined it, is it a further delusion that even the imagining has at some moments made all other objects of desire, yes- even peace, to have no more fears- look like broken toys and faded flowers? Perhaps. Perhaps, for many of us, all experience merely defines, so to speak, the shape of that gap where our love of God ought to be. It is not enough. It is something. If we cannot “practice the presence of God,” it is something to practice the absence of God, to become increasingly away of our unawareness till we feel like men who should stand beside a great cataract and hear no noise, or like a man in a story who look in a mirror and finds no face there, or a man in a dream who stretches our his hand to visible objects and gets no sensation of touch. To know that one is dreaming is to be no longer perfectly asleep. But for news of the fully waking world you must go to my betters.”

read it!

a gift

2010-12-27T18:48:00.005+02:00

as a christmas present this year, my parents bought me a flight to see anna and anete in new york! it was probably the best present (other than Jesus, of course haha) that anyone has ever given to me. here are a few of the pictures...

arriving at jfk

our wonderful hosts... mikus & grieta (anna's sister)

singing for presents

anna & anete

grand central station

going for a walk

anna's beautiful niece, jasmine

central park

metropolitan museum of art

excited about barnes & noble!

a dose of reality

2010-12-16T06:43:00.003+02:00

stop for a few minutes and pray for our brothers and sisters in india...

(be forewarned, this video has some graphic footage)

youtube of the month: december

2010-12-13T01:21:00.002+02:00

my current jam

2010-11-30T18:17:00.003+02:00

this guy's style is a little "out there." but i like it a lot!

"wooden heart" - listener

WOODEN HEART (sea of mist called skaidan)
We’re all born to broken people on their most honest day of living
and since that first breath... We’ll need grace that we’ve never given
I've been haunted by standard red devils and white ghosts
and it's not only when these eyes are closed
these lies are ropes that I tie down in my stomach,
but they hold this ship together tossed like leaves in this weather
and my dreams are sails that I point towards my true north,
stretched thin over my rib bones, and pray that it gets better
but it won’t won’t, at least I don’t believe it will...
so I've built a wooden heart inside this iron ship,
to sail these blood red seas and find your coasts.
don’t let these waves wash away your hopes
this war-ship is sinking, and I still believe in anchors
pulling fist fulls of rotten wood from my heart, I still believe in saviors
but I know that we are all made out of shipwrecks, every single board
washed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shores
so come on and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

I am the barely living son of a woman and man who barely made it
but we’re making it taped together on borrowed crutches and new starts
we all have the same holes in our hearts...
everything falls apart at the exact same time
that it all comes together perfectly for the next step
but my fear is this prison... that I keep locked below the main deck
I keep a key under my pillow, it’s quiet and it’s hidden
and my hopes are weapons that I’m still learning how to use right
but they’re heavy and I’m awkward...always running out of fight
so I’ve carved a wooden heart, put it in this sinking ship
hoping it would help me float for just a few more weeks
because I am made out of shipwrecks, every twisted beam
lost and found like you and me scattered out on the sea
so come on let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, just some tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

My throat it still tastes like house fire and salt water
I wear this tide like loose skin, rock me to sea
if we hold on tight we’ll hold each other together
and not just be some fools rushing to die in our sleep
all these machines will rust I promise, but we'll still be electric
shocking each other back to life
Your hand in mine, my fingers in your veins connected
our bones grown together inside
our hands entwined, your fingers in my veins braided
our spines grown stronger in time
because are church is made out of shipwrecks
from every hull these rocks have claimed
but we pick ourselves up, and try and grow better through the change
so come on yall and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, were just tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

sabbath rest

2010-11-30T18:03:00.002+02:00

just read finished reading an interesting article on rest here.

"nearly 90% of pastors feel overworked and 50% of those who go into full-time service drop out in 5 years." scary statistics!

this has been an area of my life that God has continued to teach me about over the past few years. we NEED rest in the Lord!

thanksgiving

2010-11-25T23:00:00.006+02:00

in honor of the year 2010, i made a list of 10 things (in no particular order) that i am especially thankful for today...
1) maddison ann brooks and the opportunity to be here for her birth
2) traveling around ireland and scotland with my brothers/amber
3) a fruitful summer of ministry in latvia
4) shiloh community church
5) morning star church
6) an amazing and supportive team in latvia
7) unbelievable family and friends
8) anna baštika and the tremendous blessing she is to me
9) a "home" on both sides of the ocean
10) and most importantly, my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ... thank You for all of these things! :)

giving thanks

2010-11-23T01:14:00.003+02:00

with turkey day around the corner, i have been examining my life and thinking about what i have to be thankful for. pastor kevin gave a timely message this past sunday about being thankful. his message was based on philippians 4:1-9;

"Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

so how can i be consistently thankful? how can i have true lasting joy?

by basing it on something that never changes!

God's goodness.

the hope that i have in Him.

the love that He demonstrates in Christ.

i can choose to be thankful because of God's presence in my life! because the Lord is near! (vs. 5) He is the one Who is good, lovely, pure, etc. (vs. 8) i just need to remind myself of that!

so besides turkey, sweet potato pie(!!!!!), football, and time with family, what do you have to be thankful for this thanksgiving?

youtube of the month: november

2010-11-16T10:01:00.001+02:00

the maddison ann brooks edition

november 10th, 2010
one of the happiest days of my life!

3 year milestone

2010-11-15T03:08:00.007+02:00

i arrived in latvia three years ago, today!

it has been both the hardest and richest three years of my life, but i wouldnt trade it for anything! i am a completely different person than the guy who arrived in riga back in 2007. God has done some wonderful work in my life over these years and i am very thankful for how He has chosen to use me. i have seen God to be faithful and how He has continually shown me His goodness over the last three years. i look forward to continuing in that for the time God has me in latvia. amen!

maddison ann brooks

2010-11-11T20:57:00.007+02:00

born november 10th, 2010 at 16:15.

7 lbs 10 oz. 20.5 inches.

she is the most beautiful baby i have ever seen in my life!

we have all been praying for this baby for years, and to be able to hold her in my arms yesterday was something that i will never forget. she is a precious gift from God!

i couldnt be happier for rob & carly. :)

it was a VERY special day. here are a few of the 6,987 pictures...

rob & carly after a long & rough night

the visiting committee

a bit sobering... it was obviously hard on carly & but also hard for rob to watch his wife go through all that pain

after four hours of pushing with no progress, they were forced to do a c-section

"short term" as in 12 hours... i hope?

our first glimpse of maddison!

grandpa brooks

grandma brooks

grandpa grainger

uncle tim

maddie w/ her dad... this picture was worth the trip

maddie w/ her mom

happy family!

very happy grandparents :)

don & shirley grainger

3 proud brothers

"yo!"

welcome to the family maddison!! you are a PERFECT addition.

leavin' on a jet plane

2010-11-08T03:07:00.002+02:00

i head to the airport in an hour... will be sad to leave... have 22 hours of travel... then the fun begins!

fusion promo vid

2010-10-25T00:20:00.004+03:00

heres a promo video that i threw together from one of our fusion camps this past summer...

josiahventure.com

2010-10-20T09:39:00.005+03:00

our website just got a huge makeover. really happy with the finished product.

www.josiahventure.com

check it out!

my current jam

2010-10-19T09:41:00.004+03:00

"lonestar" - PND (poems & dust)

download the track here.

God is...

2010-10-17T20:00:00.004+03:00

GOOD! among countless other things.

God is doing some incredible things in the lives of people in latvia. it is a blessing to hear and see how He is at work.

please keep our team in your prayers as we seek to train and disciple the next generation to follow Christ. God is moving. pray that we would continue to follow Him.

re: brooks brothers

2010-10-17T19:58:00.002+03:00

here are a few pictures of my time with my brothers... enjoy!

youtube of the month: october

2010-10-17T19:43:00.002+03:00

"i will not apologize for my tone tonight..."

classic.

a humorous glimpse into the life of a full-time missionary

2010-10-08T00:11:00.004+03:00

read this.

(she uses some questionable language, so be forewarned)

brooks brothers

2010-10-06T17:31:00.002+03:00

they are here!!! its kind of a dream come true to have them both here at the same time.

thank you Lord!

thought-provoking

2010-09-28T22:45:00.002+03:00

yup!

hopefully action-provoking too...

tickets

2010-09-19T02:35:00.005+03:00

just purchased my flights for the trip back to the states in a few months! should be a great time to reconnect with everyone and meet my new niece! more details soon. :)

:(

2010-09-16T00:57:00.010+03:00

i said goodbye to two very dear people today.

krista (far left) and endija (far right) are two of the coolest people that God has put in my life. they have been some of my closest friends in latvia and i have learned a lot from them. im excited to see what God has planned for them in this next year as the move to sweden. endija will be working and krista will be studying in Bible school. i was pretty sad to see them go today, but it still hasnt fully sunk in yet that i probably wont see them for a year... ugh!

one bit of good news is that these two girls arent going anywhere! :)

youtube of the month: september

2010-09-07T00:49:00.002+03:00

what is next?

2010-09-02T14:20:00.005+03:00

throughout the summer i frequently get asked the question, "what are you going to do when camps are over?" well the short answer is, getting back to normal life... pouring into my church and youth group, Bible studies, language learning, playing basketball, etc.

there will also be a few more "big" events that i will also be involved with over the next few weeks. here is a rough schedule of those events;

september 7: rīta zvaigzne fusion camp reunion
september 14: rīta zvaigzne fusion kick-off
september 19-24: josiah venture fall conference
october 8-9: youth leadership training weekend
october 20: riga fusion school concerts
november 5-7: cerības festivāls (hope fesitval)
november 8: head back to the states to meet my niece! :)

my current jam

2010-08-28T18:28:00.005+03:00

beautiful.

download the track here

time off (cont.)

2010-08-27T02:04:00.010+03:00

here are a few of the pictures from the trip! we got to meet some fantastic people and see a lot of beautiful country. hope you enjoy the pictures!

a special thanks to amber brennan for being a wonderful traveling partner/question asker/co-pilot/co-photographer/co-dunnes addict/swimming partner! :)

youtube of the month: august

2010-08-20T04:34:00.007+03:00

in honor of my recent trip, i would like to offer you a small taste of my time in scotland...

time off

2010-08-08T01:56:00.002+03:00

after a long and busy summer, its time for some vacation!

say hello to my two friends...

team debriefing

2010-08-04T16:29:00.004+03:00

it was a great time to sit and reflect on what God did through this random group of people that He brought together for the summer! 7 camps. 220 students. 86 new believers! AMAZING! praise God!!!

we also got to celebrate kelly & anetes birthdays!

oh and the place we stayed at had a decent view too... :)

camp 4-grobiņa

2010-08-03T01:04:00.007+03:00

God did some amazing things this week!

it was such a blessing to have the shiloh team here and to serve alongside them and a wonderful team from czech!

this week i received one of the coolest compliments of my time here in latvia. it was nothing huge, but it was perfect timing and came across heartfelt and sincere. i had gotten to know a girl named madara (pictured below on the right) pretty well during the week, and as we were leaving grobiņa she told me, "labi ka tu dzīvo latvijā" (which basically means "its good that you live in latvia"). she repeated it a few times as i was saying goodbye to her and i cant tell you what it meant to me to hear that from a latvian! it was one of the most encouraging things anyone has ever said to me. i know ultimately, im here to serve the Lord, but it was cool hear that someone i had only met a few days earlier appreciated me, you know?

here are a few of my favorite pictures from the week...

what a great end to the summer!

thank you to everyone for all of your prayers and support!!!

SHILOH COMMUNITY CHURCH!

2010-07-20T10:49:00.004+03:00

the homies are here!

they came at a perfect time. they have only been here for a little over 24 hours but they have already been a HUGE encouragement to me!

im looking forward to how God will use us and change us this week! please pray with us. :)

camp 3-rīta zvaigzne

2010-07-20T10:48:00.005+03:00

this was my first fusion camp of the summer. it was personally a very hard camp for me... but as always, God worked in many wonderful ways! He redeemed many lives this week!!!

here are a few of my favorite pictures from the camp/concert...

camp 2-kuldīga

2010-07-06T23:42:00.011+03:00

i am amazed at how God continually takes our messes and makes something beautiful out of it!

the GOOD NEWS is that around 19 out of 37 campers put their trust in Christ during the camp! pretty mind blowing stuff right there.

so many stories, but so little time to write.

for now, here are a few of my favorite pictures from the camp...

kuldīga camp music videos

2010-07-06T23:42:00.004+03:00

for the past two summers, the faith community team has filmed music videos as one of their english activities. they always turn out well and are a highlight of the summer... enjoy!

"eye of the tiger"

"forever"

"i gotta feeling"

magicJack

2010-07-04T10:00:00.001+03:00

other than taking 5.5 hours of talking with "customer support" to get
it set up, it has been great! too bad latvia blocks the service...

youtube of the month: july

2010-07-02T20:43:00.006+03:00

a hilarious/cute/sad funeral for lucky the goldfish

camp 1-liepa

2010-06-12T09:59:00.012+03:00

man, oh man! what a camp...

i am so thankful for the team i was able to serve with this week! they were constantly a blessing and encouragement to me. this was the first time i have ever served on a camp team where i felt like everyone gave 100% without any whining or complaining.

on a more personal note, there were a lot of other "firsts" for me in this camp... the first time i have had to send anyone home from camp. the first time i have had to drive to pick someone up who apologized and asked to be allowed back in camp. the first time i have been the main speaker and presented the Gospel over a week. the first time i have translated a testimony in the big meeting. the first time i have visited the hospital during camp. im pretty sure there were a few more "firsts," but those are all the ones that comes to mind right now.

God did a lot of very cool things throughout the week, so thank you for praying! it was a great week!

here are a few of my favorite pictures from the camp...

our next camp starts on june 25th! please keep praying with us...

ready, set, go!

2010-06-12T00:15:00.003+03:00

were heading out to our first camp in a few hours... please pray with us!

youtube of the month: june

2010-06-07T17:27:00.003+03:00

intern training 2010

2010-05-29T12:22:00.007+03:00

every year josiah venture kicks off intern training with an "amazing race" for the summer teams serving across central and eastern europe. this year, 13 teams raced across austria, slovakia and czech while completing specific tasks with the race culminating at our training center hotel malenovice. i am very proud to say that team "latvia-joe" took home the amazing race crown for the very first time! around a hundred young leaders gathered together after the race for a few days of fellowship and training.

our team consisted of nick fletcher, susan paterson, amanda willmeth, jasmine herrick, spencer carpenter, allison menezes, and danise postula (with a few czech team members thrown in for good measure).

we had an amazing time together and made then made 15+ hour drive back to riga to begin planning for our first camp on june 13th. when you think of it, please pray for us! we covet your partnership through prayer.