Video of Surf Trip to Eastern Samar

One Love Skate Outreach presents the video from our trip last Wednesday and Thursday (12/22-12/23) to Eastern Samar while we were in the Philippine's. Video includes some surfing, "big jumps," gainers, a cave, and chillage in Eastern Samar. Enjoy.

Words from Josh, Nic, and Ross

Here are updates from Josh, Nic, and Ross:

From Josh 

      Being here in the Philippine’s has been mind-blowing to me. I realize more and more that I have been very sheltered growing up in America. I have never been in need for food, and I have never lacked a roof over my head. Here in the PI, nobody takes daily provisions for granted. Yet, worshiping yesterday at a church in the barangay where we are staying, I got to know people who understand 2 Corinthians 8:2 much better than I ever have—because they live it.

2 Corinthians 8:2 - Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

     I've never seen poverty like this before... The worship leader/youth minister has a degenerative eye condition that runs in his family and is causing him to go blind. My eyes welled up with tears as the church sang in Tagalog with great joy, and I almost lost it when they sang a final verse in English so we could all understand: “Now let the blind say I can see, and let the poor say I am rich because of what the LORD has done for us.”

WOW!

So challenged to find joy in Jesus alone as I've seen the believers here do. 

From Nic    

 It’s the day after Christmas here in the PI, and the group just got back from Church in the barangay.  

     I’m thankful to be here in the Philippines, many miles removed from the so-called “rat race” of my American life.  In preparing to come here, I had been looking forward to a perspective change, but in actuality, my worldview has experienced some major jarring.  On the heart-warming side, I’ve been able to spend many hours in sweet fellowship with like-minded friends, old and new.  On the heart breaking side, I’ve seen extreme poverty and bondage.  The physical poverty and bondage I see around me reminds me of the spiritual poverty and bondage that is so present in this world.  God has been teaching me to have childlike faith and to avoid leaning on my own understanding.  He has also been exposing the sin of my judgmental spirit that is closely connected to my bent toward efficiency.  As an American perfectionist in a third world country, my perspective on what is truly important is drastically shifting.  I’m extremely thankful to God for this shift.  My prayer is to know and to be known by God.  He alone saves.  He is, always has been, and ever will be in total control.  He is the Ancient of Days.  He remembers and knows all.  His will will be done.  Praise Him. 

    

From Ross

     It’s been a little over a week here in the Philippines. I’ve been marinating my soul with the TRUTH, and I’ve been around people who display the TRUTH. So far the most memorable moment for me was during street ministry to the homeless up in Manila. I really got to see the Holy Spirit speak through me and share that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father (John 4:16) and that he is the bread of Life (John 6:35).  It’s a good feeling knowing that the TRUE Gospel is getting shared here in the Philippines.

Grace and Peace to the 1-1 Six from Josh, Nic, and Ross. 

p.s. I've tried to upload a video that I edited from a surf trip Ross and me took with some guys from here, but after 12+ tries and failures on Youtube and Vimeo with the internet here, I'm done trying to upload it. It is uploaded to facebook if you guys want to check it out, but it probably won't be up on the OLSO blog until we get back to the states.

One Love Skate Philippine's

Mabuhay!  Madangang umaga!  Si Nicole ito.  (Greetings!  Good morning!  This is Nicole.)

It’s incredible to be here in the “mother land.”  My husband, youngest brother, and I are here on a trip to visit our friend Naomi who has a ministry here in the PI. 

I, personally, am really excited to be here to get to know my God better and to fellowship with my sweet friend and old accountability partner, Naomi.  A few years back, I spent about a month in China teaching various things and God used that experience to teach me more about His amazing character.  The more I see of His creation (places, cultures, people), the more I fall in love with Him. 

In Him,

Nicole

From Josh:

     OLSO Blog readers, sorry that this is the first time I've posted. We left for the PI on the 16th, and we'll be here until the 30, LORD willing. It's great to be here. It's definitely eye opening. 


We're staying in International Mission Board Housing in Manilla now, and Tuesday we plan to leave for Tacloban to stay where Naomi lives. So far, we've been meeting up with other missionaries and hearing amazing stories about their lives. 


Also, Ross and I have been going on little mini missions to the homeless people in the city and giving them bread rolls from the bakery. It's cool to talk to them. Most of them can speak limited english. They love Ross, and they stare at me because I stick out a lot over here being tall and white. =) 


It's great to be here though, and we'll be updating the blog again in a few days. Thanks for the prayers. 


More to come soon.




Grace and Peace,
Josh

Sam Peralta's Story

Thanks for making this video for OneLoveSkateOutreach.com, Sam!

Check out Sam's blog and some of the awesome stuff going on in Australia: http://samslettersfromaustralia.blogspot.com/

Check out the Resources

New video blog:

Two new tracts under the Resources section of OneLoveSkateOutreach.com.  Check'm out.

     - Please use these resources. Print them out, cut them out, share them.

• If you know Jesus as your Savior, represent Him with your life and lips. 

Here are two practical ways to do that today: 

- Share Romans 6:23 Click this and share this with someone. 

- Share your story about how Jesus has worked in your life.

• If you've never experienced the one true love of Jesus Christ, open up His Word to Romans 6:23, and put your faith and trust in Him as your Lord and Savior. True life is only in Him. For real.

I pray you're experiencing the One Love, Jesus Christ. 

-Josh

Share and Experience the One Love of Jesus.

 What's up everyone?
     Hope you're reppin' the King today with your life and your lips.

This blog includes a new OLSO Testimony, a Vision "Event" for OLSO, and a Link to a Great Website for sharing your faith.

New Testimony from Chad Reis:

Vision "Event" for One Love Skate Outreach

      OneLoveSkateOutreach.com has been updated with separate Gospel Presentations and Testimonies sections, and the Events section of the site is updated as well.

2 Corinthians 5:20 teaches that:

Christ-followers are Jesus Christ’s ambassadors on this earth.

Being an ambassador for Christ is not a one-time event.

Ambassadors represent Jesus Christ 24/7.

One Love Skate Outreach exists to equip ambassadors for Jesus to:

Rep the King.

Today, you can use facebook, myspace, twitter, or e-mail to share one of our OLSO videos with a friend and help introduce the world to the One Love of Jesus Christ.

Please share these resources. Be an ambassador!

Leaders, you can use this format to upload your story and create more resources to share. 

Link to a Great Website

  

      In grad school this term, I had to evaluate some different evangelism websites. I was impressed with this site. Maybe God will lead you to share one of these videos with someone you know rather than an OLSO video. That's great. I just pray that you're sharing the truth, and the internet provides a great opportunity for all of us to share God's Word.

I've watched a lot of these "I am second" videos. The one by Brian "Head" Welch was really cool. Check out this site.

www.iamsecond.com

Hope you guys are encouraged today. Remember Galatians 6:9:
Don't get weary doing good. We'll reap a harvest if we don't stop.

One Love (1 John 4:9), 

Josh Marburger      

New OLSO Testimonies

Logo by Jon Rooks

What's up OLSO Readers?
     Check out these two videos that I've received from leaders on Maui in the last couple weeks. Enjoy:

Jon Asato of Grace Bible Church shares a story about God working in his life. 

Tim Cruz of Kahului Nazarene shares about God working in his life and a Gospel Presentation.

Rep the King (2 Corinthians 5:20),

Josh

New OLSO Testimony - Ross Bisera & Stomp Out Hunger

What's up everyone?
    Here's my brother-in-law Ross's testimony. We recorded it Sunday before he went back to college. It's great to hear how God works in people's lives, but make sure this testimony makes you look at God more carefully through His Word (The Bible) rather than exalting or belittling Ross or any other Christ-follower. This is all about the One Love of Jesus (1 John 4:9), not Ross or anyone else...
Enjoy:

     I hope you guys are able to hear my heart with what I'm saying. I want to see OneLoveSkateOutreach.com filled up with lots of amazing stories of how God has worked in peoples' lives, but I pray we can all keep in focus Acts 17:25 where the Apostle Paul reminds us that God is not served by human hands. God doesn't need us. Our labor for Him is a result of our thankfulness for the work He has done (1 Thess 1:3). We're not "doing God favors" serving Him by any of our good deeds (i.e. recording our testimonies, giving to homeless people)... Yet, as we are reminded of how incredible God is, we rejoice in the tasks He enables us to do for His Glory, and we work hard to represent Him well doing all the good deeds we can with everything we are (Rom 12:1-2, Col 3:17).

     As Christians, our individual testimonies are about God, not us. So I pray we can keep the focus on the amazing love of God and remember that God calls us all to be slaves to His amazing freedom (1 Pet 2:18-25). None of us are perfect. But we do know a perfect God, and we live to make His Name famous.

God wants us to obey Him and love Him rather than simply sacrificing our time, money, or reputation for Him (1 Sam 15:22-23; Ps 51:17; Jer 7:22-23; Matt 9:13).

I'm Praying that as you read this blog and/or listen to this testimony that you are knowing Jesus Christ and that you are growing in faith that is changing your outward actions.

     Also, Nicole and I are part of Stomp Out Hunger this year because, like OneLoveSkateOutreach, SOH exists to meet people's needs with hope that people will meet Jesus. We went to a meeting last weekend at Grace Bible Church and decided to donate $10/month (which will feed a homeless person for a year) and also start a team.

You can help out in either of two ways.
     1.) You can start a team and recruit people to donate.
                          or 
     2.) you can donate to a team member (Preferably ours: http://soh.toolsfororgs.com/sponsor.php?5VUG-KYA) =)
  
Sohmaui.org does a better job explaining the ministry than I could, but $10 will totally cover groceries for one homeless person for a month. This year, it's easy to donate with your credit card, and they have it set up to automatically take your donation each month for as long as you are willing to donate.

All the funds go straight to feeding homeless people on Maui. Thanks for being generous.

Hope you guys have a great day.

One Love (1 John 4:9),

Josh Marburger

p.s.      Two Prayer Requests:

1.) Last week, I had the opportunity to lead an evangelism workshop on Oahu with the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention, and it went really well. I was also able to connect with some awesome leaders on Oahu who will hopefully be putting together Gospel Presentations and Testimonies soon. Please pray that God would use their stories for His Glory and give them video-production skills. =)

2.) I'm going to be teaming up with a Pastor from Kihei to put together some videos for OneLoveSkateOutreach, and you guys can pray that God will use the videos we produce to bring people to Himself. 

Thanks in advance for the prayers, Rep the King (2 Cor 5:20)!

New OLSO Gospel Presentation - Jeff Marburger

Hey Guys,
     Just got this from my brother this week. Comin' at us from the South! haha=) Right on, bro!

Youth Leaders, I hope you're encouraged by this example as you put together your testimonies and presentations of the Gospel (Check out the last blog for more details of what we want you to do). Try to get your presentation uploaded to youtube and sent to me soon=) We want to hear what God's done in your life, and we want to see what God's called you to share. We want lots of different presentation styles, but one message communicated---that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Use your story for God's Glory.

Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged when we look around at society and see so many people "worshiping" friends, money, fame, their jobs, sex, security, leisure time, their egos, etc., rather than seeking to live their lives based on the Bible. But recently I was reminded of 1 King 19:18, when God speaks to the prophet Elijah, who felt like he was all alone serving God. God told Elijah: "Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal." God is a faithful God, and He loves us even when we do not demonstrate our love for Him. So we need to remember God's consistency, and we need to remember that we're not alone as we represent Him. Other people are Repping the King even when you feel like you're the only one. So keep the faith, and encourage others around you as well! (Hebrews 10:23-24 Style). Maybe you can share this or one of the other videos on our website with someone today!

Grace and Peace,
Josh

Francis Chan Gospel Presentation

What's up guys?
     As many of you know, I've been asking leaders all around Maui and Hawaii to put together a Gospel Presentation and Testimony for OneLoveSkateOutreach.com. I also asked Francis Chan to create one for us to use or to give us a link for one that he has already created and put online. This morning, I just heard back from his secretary that he suggested this video for our site. If you haven't seen it, take a few minutes and watch this. It asks some important questions, and I really like his presentation.


Playing this video for a friend or family member could be a great way for you to share the Gospel and get people thinking about Jesus.

     Different presentations are great because people who receive our OLSO tracts and log into the website will see the Gospel Presented in unique ways and hear Testimonies of what God's been doing. Plus, there are lots of kids and adults who visit this site because of facebook, myspace, and youtube.
- Lately, I've been hearing encouraging stories of ways that God is using this ministry!

We are praying that: 

Different people, with different styles, in different places, will present the same message that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).

I hope that you are encouraged to be a light and represent Jesus however he calls you to--UNASHAMED--Romans 1:16 style!

     Hopefully, more Gospel Presentations and Testimonies will be coming soon. Below is what I've been asking different leaders in Hawaii to put together.  

Leaders: E-mail this to me or send me the Youtube link:

1.) Will you please record a "Gospel Presentation"?
- Use what you think is the best way as long as it's based on the Word of God. We have some up now, but I want to get as diverse a group as possible with different methods and the same message.
- I'm thinkin about 5-7 minutes, but do it however you want as long as it's less than ten.
- When people go to the website (www.OneLoveSkateOutreach.com) and click "Find Out Here" it'll go straight to Gospel Presentations.

2.) Will you record your “Testimony”?
- For your Testimony, please say:
1.) What was your life like before you met Jesus?
2.) How did Jesus come into your life?
3.) What difference has Jesus made in your life?
             Please make sure it is less than ten minutes.

These will be uploaded to OneLoveSkateOutreach.com as long as they are approved by the “Bereans” at OLSO who make sure everything lines up with Scripture (Acts 17:11).

Thanks for your “work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our LORD Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:3). Please keep praying for and working for Revival in Hawaii.

One Love (1 John 4:9).

Blog readers: Keep praying and working for revival on Maui. Rep the King (2 Cor 5:20).

Grace and Peace,

Josh