eQuad '09 Day 14

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates, but it's been busy here in Europe..you know...doing the eQuad thing and all :). With what time I've had access to the internet, I've been updating facebook with pictures and my twitter with statuses. If you don't have access to facebook, you can check out the pictures here:

Ukraine: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=130659&id=773109941&l=2239059185
Poland: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=132476&id=773109941&l=0a0c9ec580

So far we've had an unbelievable time here. I'll give a quick run-down of the cities we've visted so far.

Lviv, Ukraine
A really amazing start to our trip. I think we were greatly blessed to have started our journey with the body of Christ throughout Ukraine (and so many old and new friends from Hungary...25 in total!!). Hearing messages from Pastor Love and spending time with the Pastors and body members from Ukraine was great!

Warsaw, Poland
After a 9 hour bus ride back to Poland, we arrived in Warsaw...and promptly jumped in the pool (although a little fancy, our 5-star hotel was appreciated after 4 days in the Ukrainian hostel!). We then were ministered to by the body of Christ in Warsaw through meetings and evangelism in the old city. I think God really put the summer harvest team together just perfectly. It really was the perfect mix of people for this trip.

...Kyle and Julius have been keeping detailed journals each day of the events...so I'll let them take on the details from here!

God bless you all and keep praying! We're just at 2/3 through the trip with only one more week left! We're leaving for Czech in the morning and Berlin on Wednesday. We fly back home on Saturday the 1st of August!

-Bryan

eQuad Day 1 - Germany!

Hello everyone! We made it safely in Germany! Stephan picked us up from the airport and we spent the afternoon at the Groenewald's home. Last night we had a rap with many from the Berlin church with Pastor Chris...although we were quite exhausted! It was quite a great start to the trip and we're already anticipating many more great things to come!

Pray for Abdullah, he's from Afganistan and has many questions! It was a great time talking with him (Julius, Stephan, Kyle and I). Pastor Chris also spoke with Josef who spoke Serbian and God gave Pastor Chris the ability to understand and respond in that language!

Today we leave Berlin (it's 5:20 in the morning here) to catch a train to Warsaw and meet with Summer Harvest from Baltimore. Then we hop in a rented van to Lviv, where we'll be until Friday.

God bless you all and continue to pray! We can't wait to come back to Berlin at the end of the trip.

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed...

eQuad is upon us! After months of prayer, we now go forth on the wings of your prayers and the wind of the Spirit of God. God will go before us, be with us, and be a voice behind us telling us the way we should go. What a blessing we have! I'm overwhelmed with God's grace that we have been given so great an opportunity to visit and see God move in the faces and lives of so many in Europe.

We go forth bearing the precious seed of the life of God and salvation of Christ. Hahaha! And doubtless....DOUBTLESS, We shall come again with rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with us (Ps 126:6). Wow! Hallelujah! What a great work God has set before us. Praise him that He both works in the willing and the doing of His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). There is nothing for us to do, but walk in the presence of the Lord and He will do it all. Our work is but to rest.

Now for those who are staying behind with the stuff (who shall take part alike in the great harvest and reaping of the rewards of this great venture, 1 Sam 30:24):
Acts 12:8 - And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.

Follow us. We'll be updating this blog, but more likely we'll update our twitter pages as we can. Check them out:
Bryan: twitter.com/bryanackerman
Kyle: twitter.com/kylebenoit

God bless you all. My heart is especially enlarged to each one of you who have encouraged us in so many ways over the past year and a half.

Bryan

Here we Stand...Here we Go!

"Every golden era in human history proceeds from the devotion and righteous passion of some single individual. There are no bona fide mass movements; it just looks that way. There is always one man who knows God and knows where he is going." - Richard E. Day

After a fantastic Spring at the brook Cherith here in Baltimore and a life changing Convention; we are ready to goforth on eQuad. If you haven't gotten the messages from Convention check here.

Follow updates from our trip on Twitter or Facebook. There will also be updates here on the blog.

Thank you for holding the ropes in prayer.

Christian

Convention & The Trip!

We had a great time at convention! Kyle, Julius (our 3rd eQuad member) and I had a blast working the booth selling Polish Sausage, Diced Potatoes (courtesy of Julius' grandma!), and cucumber salad. We were able to raise a good amount of money to support Kyle and Julius to go on the trip! It was such a testimony to see how God brought the booth together. There was no striving or calculating, but the Lord brought the increase! We had so many volunteers and I didn't even have to schedule shifts!

Thanks to Andrew Norton (chef extraordinaire), Meagan Cerquitella (Decorating Queen), Angelica and her Angelicites (Hannah, Hosanna, and Gloria), Andy Castro, Dave Janssen, Regina & Catherine & James & Ben Wileczek, Matt Roberge (Carpenter extreme!), Rebekah Thomer, Joe Veale, Josh Anderson, Sari Heidenreich, Pastor Chris and Gosia Moore and anyone else my still tired mind has missed! Thanks to Pastor Maciek for all the cool stuff!

I'd like to post some pictures...when I have access to them and time to put them up!

Nevertheless, the time is fast approaching when we'll be traveling to Europe! At the Eastern European prayer meeting last night, it was exciting to tell Pastor Misha that we would see him in Lviv IN TWO WEEKS! It was a great prayer meeting, about 19 people showed up!

If you look at the map below, there's been a little change (Green line) which indicates that our trip will begin and end in Germany. Pastor Chris, Julius, Kyle and I will fly into Berlin on July 12th. We'll stay in Berlin for a day or two then take a train to Warsaw, maybe right to Lviv, depending on when the Summer Harvest crew leaves for Lviv. Then the trip is as we remember it.

So far I only know that Julius, Kyle and I are going on this trip. If any one else plans on joining us, please let me know! We're less than 2 weeks away from this great faith adventure!

My verse during convention was this: Acts 17:28 - "For in him we live, and move, and have our being" and I think it applies well to this trip. We have to be completely dependent upon Him for our very lives. In Christ is how we enjoy and are strengthened in this life. And through Christ we move; He has set our hearts in motion towards His calling. eQuad, Bible College, evangelism, salvations, preaching and teaching are because of His leading us to move.

And in Him we have our being. Col 1:17 - and by Him all things consist. We are here and we are alive because He Is. We are upheld by the mighty hand of His power.

Here, we stand...and Here, we go. Keep us in prayer, by your travailing and effectual prayers, mountains will be cast into the sea, souls will be saved, faith will be strengthened, deliverances will be wrought, and God will be glorified as we go teaching and making disciples of all nations throughout Eastern Europe.

Thank you for your continued prayers. It is through the ministry of prayer that a great work will be done of God in these countries.

Bryan

Statement

For the support of continual growth in the major areas of the great commission to make disciples, evangelize the lost, preach and teach in and throughout Poland, Ukraine, The Czech Republic, Austria and Germany। The purpose of our funds will fuel visitation, visibility and fervent prayer that reaches the International Convention Body of Christ.

Young Men Seeing Visions

It's 2:00 in the morning and Kyle and I are preparing for eQuad. We are excited about the vision that is set before us.

Acts 16:9 - And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

• 3 Weeks
• 5 Countries
• 9 Churches

As Macedonia was to Paul, so is...

View eQuad '09 (+Summer Harvest) in a larger map

...to the eQuad '09 Team. The people of Eastern Europe mimic this same cry for help. God is not interested in our ability but our availability. The vision is plain before us and we're asking who will run with us. Will you run?

We leave the states with Pastor Love and the Summer Harvest crew on July 11th. We will land in Warsaw, Poland on the 12th and travel to Lviv, Ukraine the following day. We'll return to Warsaw on the 17th, and the Summer Harvest team will travel back to America on July 19th.

At this point, the eQuad team (men only) will continue on the trip outlined in the map above. eQuad '09 will come to a close in Berlin, Germany on August 1st, when we'll fly back to the United States.

Contact Bryan Ackerman if you are coming with us or need more information. We'll be posting additional details as the days come.

God bless,
Bryan and Kyle

P. Love & Teens to Join Us in July!

Just got an email confirming that P. Love and some of the teens from Baltimore will join us in Ukraine and Poland July 11-19. Stay tuned for the schedule details!

The Impact of Vision

As I was driving into work today, I was thinking of the the missions team of the week, Warsaw, Poland...a place very dear to me. What struck me was how much God has put them on my heart, how much love God has shown me towards this country, and these people.

Getting out of my class a little late, I missed the video presentation from Pastor Maciek on the church in Warsaw, but I got to hear the beautiful prayers of Pastor Andrulonis as he prayed for the churches in Poland.

Why would this country, these people 4000 miles away mean so much to me? Why would I be brought to tears just thinking about any lack they might have, any needs they need fulfilled; to think about the joy on their faces, their laughter, their desire for God's word and personal touch fills me with such rejoicing. What is God doing?

It was the trip that we (Kyle, Pastor Chris and I) took in March 2008 that started this. I had been to Poland the previous summer, but this was different. This trip was so personal. From staying with the Pastors and their families in Wroclaw, Krakow, Gdansk, and Warsaw, to attending mid-week meetings, prayer, and Bible studies to seeing the faces and joy of team and church members. It was a vision. God was working a vision in my heart, a purpose to go forth to love and minister to His people in Poland. God was showing me that there is so much more He is doing than I could imagine.

This week-long missions trip changed my life. God had given me direction, missions. God had given me a country, Poland. Since returning that's been the focus of my heart.

God has a plan for Poland, for Eastern Europe. God's heart is for missions throughout all the world. I pray that this eQuad can be used to stir up hearts. I pray that God will speak greatly during this trip; that people would be led to come and see what God is doing in Eastern Europe. It's going to be life-changing. Pray about coming with us!

See you there,
Bryan

Fresh Oil Tour '09

Last week we had a foretaste of what to expect this summer on e.Quad & I wanted to share it with all of you. We took a trip with 14 Bible College men in 2 vans - 2400 miles, 35 hours of driving to 3 different states in 5 days. It was fun, anointed and very fruitful with salvations, plans for Bible School and personal decisions for Christ and discipleship on the team that went with us.

We've compiled a video of the trip and it really speaks for itself and the type of trip we may expect in July with you!

God bless!
http://goye4th.blogspot.com

Fitly Framed Conference 2008; & e.Quad Beyond

New Years Conference; The Method to our Madness

Pastor Christian Moore highlighted Europe during our second night of workshops. New areas were highlighted including: Denmark, Belgium, Serbia & Scotland. An updated prayer list was distributed covering our ministries in Europe. The e.Quad trip was presented to the Body and the blog was revealed. We are asking now for prayer as planning starts. Pray for the team that God is starting to gather, the traveling between these countries, the Body of believers that will be touched, the souls that will be added to the kingdom in this late hour and for our hearts to be encouraged in this move of God's heart towards Europe!

e.Quad; Upcoming & Beyond
All events following are tentative

January; e.Quad prayer meeting - To discuss and share the trip
March; EuroCon 09 - To attend and to stir the vision
April; Eastern European Night - Awareness of the trip & Fundraising
June; e.Quad Cafe - InterCon 09 booth to spread the word and fund raise
July; e.Quad!

"And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent."

25 years ago as a teenager I took a mission trip to Saltsjöbaden, Sweden with a small team from our church in Maine. There we evangelised on the street and ministered to the church in Stockholm. It changed my life. As a troubled teen struggling in high school, Christ met me on the streets of Sweden on that mission trip and graciously gave me a call to foreign missions with this verse - "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men". Shortly after that exciting week of outpouring and evangelism, I went to Bible School in Lenox, Mass with a burning heart.

That really is my prayer for this mission trip that we've called "e.Quad". With young men and women from Baltimore, Finland and Poland, our prayer is that a vision of Christ; the maker of fishers of men, would be embedded in their hearts. Please join us and check this blog for updates and info regarding the trip as well as future trips.

In The Way,
Pastor Christian Moore

eQuad; Intro to Vision

Bryan Ackerman and Kyle Benoit here,

We are two Bible college students in Baltimore, whose hearts have been stirred for the possibilities and potential that God has for eastern Europe.

Earlier this year we spent two weeks in Europe. Starting with EuroCon 2008 and following that with a trip to the four churches of Poland with Pastor Chris Moore. Returning to the states we were burdened to pray for the precious work in Poland. Our weekly prayer meetings expanded and God led us in the vision to pray for all the churches throughout eastern Europe.

eQuad.

The furtherance of that vision, stirring deeper in our hearts, is to visit the ministries of eastern Europe. The plan for this first new and exciting venture is to travel through Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Czech Rep., followed by a visit to Austria and Zagreb in the summer of 2009.

The theme in our hearts for eQuad09 is, Zephaniah 3.17 The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

We'll be posting an array of devotional thoughts, summarizations of the plans going forward and communication of the intra-european prayer requests.

- Kyle and Bryan

Initial Overview

Tentative Itinerary:

July 7-9 Berlin, Germany
July 10-11 Gdansk, Poland
July 12-13 Warsaw, Poland
July 14-16 L'viv, Ukraine
July 17-19 Krakow, Poland
July 19(pm)-20 Wroclaw, Poland
July 21-22 Prague, Czech Republic
July 23-24 Austria, Vienna
July 25-26 Zagreb, Croatia

InterRail Pass is the most effective way to travel between cities.
(see more at http://www.interrailnet.com/).

You can buy a five trains in ten days i.e. a 5/10 pass and join us for five or six cities or a 10/22 pass that covers the whole trip and more!

Hope to see you there!