Business and no time = no excuses!

Well, it's been so long since a new post has been up ... but that's not the real reason I'm blogging.

Truth is God has been challenging me in my life and I want to share this challenge with you. Business is a reality, loss of time is also an everyday thing. Having a lack of time isn't something new or even something old, it's just something that happens. But the real question we have to ask ourselves is are we using the lack of time as an excuse to not get close to God?

I had a dream a few nights ago, I can't go into detail beccause it would just confuse you ... but a lady came up to me and said that a Pastor needs to be a Pastor all the time, not just in front of people.

It hit me hard, because it's a truth. I've been blessed by entering into the title of Pastor at TACF and I shouldn't be different in front of people than when I'm just by myself. I know it should be a normal reality, but sometimes the things one should know and live aren't exactly the easiest ones

a success or not ... you decide

So, it's been a day since my day off ... was I sucessful or not? Well really it's all in how you look at the deck of cards ... see for yourself.

Yesterday I slept in until around 11 am ... it was not easy too. Every few minutes I'd wake up and look at the clock and only 5 minutes passed, well until around 10:50 ... then I slept for like 10 minutes and didn't want to wake up but I told myself, "Ben, it's 11 am. Get the heck out of bed!" So I woke up, went downstairs and ate breakfast,

yes dear reader, Ben Kennedy ate a real breakfast. Cereal and a bagel with cheddar cheese! It was a new experience, but a good one. Well I got my room clean (though it's looking a little muddled up now) and I worked on some of my business stuff ALL day.

See I run a Book Keeping business which is fun ... it's a lot of data entry and sorting through paperwork and the like, but it's enjoyable. While working away on this stuff I also had the TV on ... did you know that between 1 pm and around 7 pm there is at least 1 Startrek show in the hour? Every hour was Star Trek: The Next Generation but in some hours there was others too ... it was pretty weird. Anyways I went out to dinner with the family which was good ... and then came back home, worked on more book keeping and then worked on some Blockbuster training materials. I even had some time to prepare a cell teaching this week.

So would you say yesterday was a success or not? You decide!

Krazyness, finally (hopefully) somewhat passed

Wow, has it really been almost a month and a half since I updated? Well it certainly must be since I last posted from Ecuador. So sorry to anyone who's been checking every once in a while and I still haven't had a new post. Life has been a little krazy, so hopefully that helps explain a little.

Well after Ecuador (which was freakin' awesome!) I came back to Canada with a deeper passion for God and an unsatiable desire to sleep (which was not fulfilled!). I celebrated my 22nd Birthday with my family, BBQ style and then started my new job at TACF as the Youth Network Pastoral Administrator where I now have the priveledge of a greater area of responsibility. For the first few weeks it was super intense because we lost Robyn Day to Australia (but who wouldn't want to go there?) and Sarah Houghton to Wales (who had the most beautiful wedding in Woodstock a few weekends ago). We didn't have anyone really taking on their roles in the office so it was fun trying to juggle which responsibilites were most important and letting the ones that weren't so important fall. It was a great opportunity for God to teach me more about being able to let things go rather than trying to hold them all up. It was great actually because I felt released from a lot of stresses and had major support from my leaders (and bosses) Duncan & Kate.

The good news is that Stefanie Mumby joined our team which helps us out a lot. I started some training manuals for Management at Blockbuster which is a lot of fun too ... surprisingly working there relieves a lot of pressures from everything and I leave work at Blockbuster feeling more refreshed! Near the end of August was our Youth Camp where God continued his work in my life and Holy Spirit really showed me part of who He is. It's so fantastic because Holy Spirit isn't some "ghost" that floats around going "boo" but He is a real person who can touch us (physically) and even refresh us, so let's just say camp was fun because a few times I completely got blasted, lying on the floor for like 45 minutes and not even realizing I was there. There was one night where I was so touched by HS that I couldn't move ... Jon L and Anthony laughed at me but I felt so wonderful. So God did lots at camp, really put a passion in my heart for Canada.

Over these past few months I really felt like I had no place here in Toronto. Some people might find this hard to believe, but I felt like I was dying out and with friends moving on (actually "trying" to move on) and everything that happened with Will, I really thought that Toronto couldn't hold a future for me and I didn't want a future here. I started looking and praying for a way out and one started to present itself. Well at camp God really did some good works in me and put a "burning" desire in my heart to see our nation (CANADA) grow in it's destiny and our generation take the high places of society for God. So watch out Media, look out education and business ... watch your backs Medical field! Politics get ready because God is raising up this generation to take back these fields for HIM!

So wow, not only all that but after camp Sarah got married ... congrats girl ... congrats! And then this past weekend Jonathan & Maija Puddle got married. I had the opportunity to "cater" for their wedding (nothing too fancy, just finger foods etc) but it was great. Then this past Sunday we had our Junior High kickoff where Carol Rigg and I got together with about 25 youth & young adult leaders who want to be involved (not counting some extra people who approached me later that day) in Jr. High Ministry and we had a blast with the new Jr Highers and had a lunch with a bunch of their families.

Look, I know this has been a long post, but catch this ... just grasp this a moment. I am different, I am a changed man because God is doing amazing things in my life and in the lives of everyone around me. I am excited because he is GOOD and he really is freakin' SWEET! I'm so passionate, if I can thank God for things right now, I'd say thanks God for:

My family (and my new nephew born on Sept 1 at 11:59 am, Blair Nicholas Taylor known as "Nick"), Duncan & Kate, the Newmarket group, my job at TACF & Blockbuster, my guys that are leading, the Jr. High Ministry, my cell guys ... there's so much to be thankful for.

People: Brandon Serez, Jonathan Schunker, Dallas, Chris & David, everyone that I know ... I'm blessed by your friendship and I ask God to give you FIRE!

Ok, so I'm going to close it off now, if you really want to hear / see ramblings from me talk to me in person.

P.S. I get a WHOLE day off tomorrow ... I'm so excited. I'm going to sleep in, clean my room, work on some cell discussion / teachings for my leaders, bike around the lake by my house and "maybe" clean my bathroom ... so yeah.

Ecuador Day 10 - Zoe Girl Concert

Hey Everyone,

Well I have a few minutes and wanted to send you an update on yesterday. Yesterday (Sat) was our Zoe Girl concert which was a lot of fun. It started off with these Ecuadorian aerobics people leading aerobics ... which was very disconcerting. Honestly our entire team felt that no guys should be able to move or bend like that ....

Anyways we did a few drama sites yesterday and many people were healed through Jesus. Its been one of the most faith building times to see you pray for people and Jesus heal them through you. Everyone has had opportunities to minister healing, salvation and deliverances.

Yesterday Tyler, David & Ben P prayed for one our leaders on the OBF team who hurt his ankle really bad a few days back and he was healed! Its been amazing, yesterday we saw a man who had diabeties and had pain in his stomach be healed by Jesus. He said the pain completely left, we told him to go check with his doctor, once his doctor says hes healed to then tell the doctor how he was healed and share Jesus with him!

God is so amazingly good, we only have 2 full ministry days left and then we head to Otavalo (the largest market in Latin America!) so please keep praying protection, unity and blessings upon us.

God Bless you all,
We miss you all heaps!

Sincerely,Ben, Carol, Ramlin, Ashley, Amanda, Jessica, Ben P, David, Tokai, Tyler and the ¨gas¨(the official team mascot)

P.S. Im sure you thought the gas was gone, so did we, but its not ... its still around and kicking out just as good as before. When we fly in on Wednesday just beware when we get in the car with you!!

Ecuador Day Six,Seven,Eight & Nine: BUSY BUSY BUSY

Hey Everyone,

My deepest apologies that I couldnt keep up with emailing all the time. Weve been super busy ... so Im going to give a quick breakdown of whats been happening because were leaving in about 15 minutes for the day.

Day Six was pretty amazing. We started off by getting on the bus and drove to a small school that was inside a church. There were so many kids there that we got to pray over, do dramas for and even heal ... here is the breaksown

People who saw the dramas - 110
Adult Salvations - 6
Child Salvations - 57
Deliverances - 3
Healings - 17

The kids at this site were awesome, our lunch crew forgot to bring our PB & J so the church cooked us all chicken and fries ... after that we headed to a little school up in the mountains were we did ministry in a field of dust. It was definately the dirtiest weve ever been but it was fantastic, here are the statistics

People who saw the dramas - 91
Adult Salvations - 18
Child Salvations - 52
Deliverances - 3
Healings - 3

God was awesome, after doing our ministry we played a game of football (soccer for us) and played against a bunch of kids who definately let us win.

Day Seven was our cultural day at the Andes Mountains in the Hot Springs ... boy was that good. It was raining, we were high up in the mountains and we were cold so the springs relaxed us all. It rocked majorly.

Day Eight was yesterday and we had a blast. We started off (all tired I might add) going to some rough neighbourhoods ... Im going to give you the stastics on all three:

Site 1
People who saw the dramas - 99
Adult Salvations - 15
Child Salvations - 61
Deliverances - 0
Healings - 35

Site 2
People who saw the dramas - 36
Adult Salvations - 3
Child Salvations - 20
Deliverances - 0
Healings - 0

Site 3
People who saw the dramas - 101
Adult Salvations - 21
Child Salvations - 30
Deliverances - 1
Healings - 9

Now a good point to make is that we finished Site 2 and everyone was tired. We could of gone back to the hotel, even the pastor suggested it but our team leader pumped us up, gave us the option and we said we have to do a third site. We gave it our all and God definately came through.

Well today were about to head out to who knows where. Not even our team leader knows and that is what makes it so amazing, our translators take the bus to a certain area (let me add that the buses are big, the streets are narrow and I dont know how we drive down certain alleys without scraping the walls!!) and we just pray about where to go.

Tyler got a prayer language a few days back, he also got healed last night from his cold hands ... in all the years Ive known him he has always had cold hands until last night! God is great ... please keep us in prayer, we so desperately want to see God move. The enemy is trying to scare us by sending distractions but were not giving in.

So please have everyone you know cover us in prayer, pray strength into us and give us boldness. We only have 5 days left and we want to give it our all ... when we get back if you have ANY pain in your body get your kids to pray for you ... our faith is through the roof! Were still waiting to raise someone from the dead, but seriously its one of our team goals so pray for us.
God Bless you all,
We miss you all heaps!

Sincerely,Ben, Carol, Ramlin, Ashley, Amanda, Jessica, Ben P, David, Tokai and Tyler

P.S. If you want to get ahold of us, call the hotel (its cheaper that way) at around 11 pm your time (that will be 10 our time). If were not there try around 11:30!

Ecuador Day Five - A real ministry day!!!

Ola Families!

Hope youre all doing well ... today has been the BEST day so far in my mind. God has done amazing things ... us guys got up about 6 minutes before breakfast (because the clock didnt go off) but Ive never seen anyone get ready so fast.

Today we headed out for our first ministry day to three different sites and God did amazing things, here is the breakdown:

Site 1 - Marketplace
People there - 65
Adult Salvations - 20
Child Salvations - 14
Deliverances - 1
Healings - 6
Prayer Requests - LOTS

Site 1 - A Local Church
People there - 150
Adult Salvations - 75
Child Salvations - 20
Deliverances - 4
Healings - 13+
Prayer Requests - LOTS

Site 1 - Park
People there - 100
Adult Salvations - 35
Child Salvations - 16
Deliverances - 1
Healings - 4
Prayer Requests - LOTS

All in all, we saw over 23 people healed, by not only the OBF team but our team as well. Were all in mixed groups and were all growing amazingly. We had a fantastic service tonight and God is doing amazing things in all our lives. So keep praying for us, I will do my best to give you an update tomorrow.

But first a quick healing story, this one old lady Tokai and I prayed for today was healed from hand and feet bone injuries ... completely healed. Another girl had ankles swollen to twice their normal size, Ashley & Jessica ministered healing to her ... theres lots more stories but I wont ruin it for your kids.

By the way they ALL do amazing in dramas (David spoke tonight in a microphone) and Ashley wants her parents to send her money. Tokai wants to ask Millicent if he can get a blowdart thingy from a local market and Tyler wants his mom to wire him some money too ... but well try to get them to call tomorrow (hopefully!)

Sincerely,Ben, Carol, Ramlin, Ashley, Amanda, Jessica, Ben P, David, Tokai, Tyler and the "gas" P.S. Ive gotten email responses saying that some people dont believe the gas stories. Let me put it to you like this, the gas is so bad we now have a rule that anyone (out of the 28 in the team) have to leave the room ... its horrible ... especially the girls!!!

Ecuador: Day Four - Cultural Day

Hey Everyone,

Sorry that I didnt get to email last night but we were super busy. We started off with INTENSE drama training until around noon ... ate some PB & J and then headed to the Equator Monument. We got back a little early (around 4 pm) had some pool time, dinner and then our evening service. During the service we washed the feet of your kids and it was an intense time. After that (around 10 pm) we worked hard on our dramas until 11:30, why you may ask?

We have 4 ministry sites this morning to go to ... we learned 5 dramas in 1 and a half days (normally it takes 3 days) and were leaving in about 7 minutes to go to our first ministry site (of four).

Please keep us in prayer, I will do my best to email tonight.

God Bless we really miss you all!

Sincerely,
Ben, Carol, Ramlin, Ashley, Amanda, Jessica, Ben P, David, Tokai, Tyler and the "gas"

P.S. Please pray for an abundance of energy and protection and a BIG harvest!

Ecuador: Day Three - A New Experience

Hey Everyone,

Well its the end of a new day and let me tell you (all you parents too) that God is awesome and is already doing amazing things in the lives of everyone on the team, especially the kids. Carol and I were commenting on the fact that at all the camps weve been to, the great "God times" always take place on the last night. Well tonight was only the beginning of the trip and God showed up amazingly ... Ill get to that part later.

So we had an early morning, the Oklahoma team arrived late last night, we shared breakfast and headed into some "intense" drama training ... now Im not just meaning "oh no, were tired" but Im meaning we are POOPED because weve learned 4 new dramas today. We went right at it after some God time and went from around 9 am until lunch (PB & J) and then after lunch till around 6 pm. We had some great dinner (were not sure what kind of meat the hotel served, but it was good. Cristin Budd thinks it may of been goat ... oh well ... it was meaty and all organic!) and then planned on learning a new drama after dinner, but God had other plans.

What started off as a normal worship service (which should of been about 20 minutes) turned into an all out God Fest of powerful intersession and warfare, worship and most of all intimacy with God, from all the kids!!! Everyone had an encounter with God and Tyler and Ben P both got an amazing prophetic word from God that was EXACTLY the same but they didnt know the other person had said it. Tokai let me know that he heard God call his name and last night Amanda spoke in tongues for the first time! Jessica was blasted by the Holy Spirit and was just going wild in Jesus. Everyone of your kids were doing warfare ... Ben P, Tyler, Tokai and I were dancing like mad ... its been amazing!!!

Did I tell you your kids would be changed?? If you didnt hear me say it, I really did and its happening right before our eyes. God is great and were excited because tomorrow were heading to the Equator monument. Anyways, I will let you all go ... the "gas" is telling us its time for bed.

So good night, keep praying for protection and unity among our team ... no major issues have come up (okay the "gas" isnt looking at the moment, pray that it will go away, its really bad ... mostly with the girls though!) and were all really tired and its 10 pm. So bed time for us ... we have to be up at 6 am tomorrow ... God Bless ... we have AMAZING footage ... and have gone through over 2 1/2 hours of camera stuff ... so yeah.

God Bless we miss you all!

Sincerely,
Ben, Carol, Ramlin, Ashley, Amanda, Jessica, Ben P, David, Tokai, Tyler and the "gas"

P.S. Anthony, could you call Ramlins sister and let her know shes okay ... her number is 416 895 6351