Hello,
So my trip is over and I am working on getting my letters out (finally) as said, I wanted to put some videos of our trip on this web site. There are more and if you would like to see them you may go to www.youtube.com and type in "celebrant singers". I am in the group that wears blue.
Here are three. Two videos of our Phillipines trip and one of us singing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ulDdh3EG8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tTeW4etSJc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du4h_QLv7pc
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
I'm Back!!!
Hello Again Everyone!
I am back safe in Califormia. We got back this past Tuesday and will be heading to Visalia California today. On Tuesday we have our annual banquet, kinda like a welcome home party. I will be back home wednesday
Gotta go thank you for your prayers!!!
I am back safe in Califormia. We got back this past Tuesday and will be heading to Visalia California today. On Tuesday we have our annual banquet, kinda like a welcome home party. I will be back home wednesday
Gotta go thank you for your prayers!!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Philippines - Get ready the Celebrants are on their way!
Hi everybody, Stacey here - Holly asked me to update all of you on her most recent adventure!!
Starting Yesterday (July 28th) - Holly and the rest of the Celebrants will be in the Philippines!!!
They will be returning Tuesday, August 12th.
Please be in prayer about this adventure in whatever way God leads you.
Specific Requests -
Cultural Barriers Removed
Aware of any attacks from Satan
The team will be able to spiritually prepare for this trip
God being able to move through this team
God being able to provide the rest of the funding needed
Holly told me in her message that God has been growing her so much! So God is amazing! :) Yay! I expect you will be hearing from her when she gets back!!
Starting Yesterday (July 28th) - Holly and the rest of the Celebrants will be in the Philippines!!!
They will be returning Tuesday, August 12th.
Please be in prayer about this adventure in whatever way God leads you.
Specific Requests -
Cultural Barriers Removed
Aware of any attacks from Satan
The team will be able to spiritually prepare for this trip
God being able to move through this team
God being able to provide the rest of the funding needed
Holly told me in her message that God has been growing her so much! So God is amazing! :) Yay! I expect you will be hearing from her when she gets back!!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Body is Weak but the Spirit is Willing
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe..." Philippians 2:14-15
Today, or technically yesterday, was our fourth day of no air conditioning on our bus. On the third day I found myself ready to burst into tears. Do you want to know the honest truth why? *sighs* I wanted Ice Cream.
See, everyday we make a stop for lunch were we can eat our sack lunch and have the opportunity to buy some food also. Since Friday (the first day without A.C.) all I wanted was a McFlurry to chase away the heat. It was now Monday and I still had not had that McFlurry or any ice cream for that matter and we stopped at a KFC and my heart sank.
I could not get my mind off of wanting that treat. I just thought it would make me better, happier and less hot (driving through texas on a bus with no A.C. is a very . . . growing experience). I was holding back tears. Luckily, for me and for others who would have to deal with me on a bus, sweet Sylvia saw a place that sold ice cream, bought some, and gave a few bites to me. It stopped me from crying, but I still wasn't happy, not the way I thought it would have made me.
Every day on the bus we have a devotional time where one of us speaks about a topic with a verse and after words we have our own private time. After Lunch the verse above was presented and it just opened my eyes.
I had been complaining about the heat. Complaining that I wanted ice cream, that I didn't get it. How I was giving in to the lie that anything of this world would make me happy! It is only God alone! And I was letting it steal my joy! For the rest of that day I was still hot and sticky but I had this simple song in my head: 'The Joy of the Lord is My Strenth". And it was, and I was finally joyful and at peace. God is good.
Today, or technically yesterday, was our fourth day of no air conditioning on our bus. On the third day I found myself ready to burst into tears. Do you want to know the honest truth why? *sighs* I wanted Ice Cream.
See, everyday we make a stop for lunch were we can eat our sack lunch and have the opportunity to buy some food also. Since Friday (the first day without A.C.) all I wanted was a McFlurry to chase away the heat. It was now Monday and I still had not had that McFlurry or any ice cream for that matter and we stopped at a KFC and my heart sank.
I could not get my mind off of wanting that treat. I just thought it would make me better, happier and less hot (driving through texas on a bus with no A.C. is a very . . . growing experience). I was holding back tears. Luckily, for me and for others who would have to deal with me on a bus, sweet Sylvia saw a place that sold ice cream, bought some, and gave a few bites to me. It stopped me from crying, but I still wasn't happy, not the way I thought it would have made me.
Every day on the bus we have a devotional time where one of us speaks about a topic with a verse and after words we have our own private time. After Lunch the verse above was presented and it just opened my eyes.
I had been complaining about the heat. Complaining that I wanted ice cream, that I didn't get it. How I was giving in to the lie that anything of this world would make me happy! It is only God alone! And I was letting it steal my joy! For the rest of that day I was still hot and sticky but I had this simple song in my head: 'The Joy of the Lord is My Strenth". And it was, and I was finally joyful and at peace. God is good.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Brooklyn, New York
This weekend was very touching. We were at a Catholic church called Church of the Holy Innocence. CHI is an average working class family church in Brooklyn with many immigrant families and cultures. Saturday we did a night mass and Sunday we had four masses; two in English, one in Spanish and one in French (do not be fooled we did sing the Mass in Spanish, but we sang in English at the French one). It was a very long day, Sunday, and we had a concert to do also at 6:30 and we were all physically tired.
I was worried about the concert because our prayer time was cut down to only 10 minutes, which is normally 30 minutes before each performance. So our time to focus and gain strength was shortened drastically. However, God honors all prayers, long or short, and as we prayed there seemed to be a desire to just worship the Lord last night.
And the Spirit was strong there. I tend to struggle with tuning out the crowd and just worshiping God, but last night I felt so free just to sing to Him. At the end of each service we give a call for those who want to except Christ as their Savior and for those who want to rededicate their lives (and then for any other prayer requests laid on their heart). Normally only a small percentage of the church raises their hands for prayer, but not at the Church of the Holy Innocence. A third of the people raised Their hands, all at once -- it was so powerful. All I could do was praise the Lords name! There were so many people that instead of meeting them at their pews, we formed a line in the front of the church and they had to come to us.
The one that touched me the most was a girl by the name of Amillia, who was probably in 2nd or 3rd grade and she wanted to except Christ as her Savior. I am not the best with words but the emotions I feel are excitement, awe and humility.
Each night I am still amazed at how God is using our ministry - seeing the Holy Spirit work through us to touch individual churches. To think that all I am doing is praising and worshiping the Lord and somehow God is using that to transform lives, Amazing!
The next three days (Monday through Wednesday) we are traveling to Texas. We were going to have two concerts on Monday and Tuesday, but they fell through, but I feel for the better. With such a strong experience like that I feel that I, personally, need to spiritually recharge. Like, when the disciples came back from their mission work and Jesus took them to a private place to rest, I need to rest with God, and these two days are a blessing in my eyes.
My throat is still soar, but pray that these two days will help me to recover. Also, by Monday (technically today) we are suppose to have raised $18,000 to go to the Philippines. Pray for God to provide, because it is All from Him. I have faith that He will.
Matthew 9:29 According to your faith will it be done to you
I was worried about the concert because our prayer time was cut down to only 10 minutes, which is normally 30 minutes before each performance. So our time to focus and gain strength was shortened drastically. However, God honors all prayers, long or short, and as we prayed there seemed to be a desire to just worship the Lord last night.
And the Spirit was strong there. I tend to struggle with tuning out the crowd and just worshiping God, but last night I felt so free just to sing to Him. At the end of each service we give a call for those who want to except Christ as their Savior and for those who want to rededicate their lives (and then for any other prayer requests laid on their heart). Normally only a small percentage of the church raises their hands for prayer, but not at the Church of the Holy Innocence. A third of the people raised Their hands, all at once -- it was so powerful. All I could do was praise the Lords name! There were so many people that instead of meeting them at their pews, we formed a line in the front of the church and they had to come to us.
The one that touched me the most was a girl by the name of Amillia, who was probably in 2nd or 3rd grade and she wanted to except Christ as her Savior. I am not the best with words but the emotions I feel are excitement, awe and humility.
Each night I am still amazed at how God is using our ministry - seeing the Holy Spirit work through us to touch individual churches. To think that all I am doing is praising and worshiping the Lord and somehow God is using that to transform lives, Amazing!
The next three days (Monday through Wednesday) we are traveling to Texas. We were going to have two concerts on Monday and Tuesday, but they fell through, but I feel for the better. With such a strong experience like that I feel that I, personally, need to spiritually recharge. Like, when the disciples came back from their mission work and Jesus took them to a private place to rest, I need to rest with God, and these two days are a blessing in my eyes.
My throat is still soar, but pray that these two days will help me to recover. Also, by Monday (technically today) we are suppose to have raised $18,000 to go to the Philippines. Pray for God to provide, because it is All from Him. I have faith that He will.
Matthew 9:29 According to your faith will it be done to you
Friday, July 11, 2008
God can Move Mountains
Hello Everyone! I hope your summers have been going well. For a quick update, after McHenry, Il we heading into Michigan, and spent the 4th of July in Toledo, Ohio. Today I am writing to you from Gettysburg, Penn. and will soon be on the road to Brooklyn New York! (I'm very excited!)
In this post I wanted to share with you a few ways I have seen the hand of God on our ministry. First off, for the past week and a half my throat has been getting soar. It isn't because we sing everyday, but it is because I am not able to get a good 8 hours of sleep every night. But what I have been experiencing is amazing! I will have a soar throat all day and night, but when I get on stage to sing my throat does not hurt at all and I am able to sing with ease.
A girl on our team, Angela our piano player, has experienced a healing as well. In January she found out she had a lot of back problems; her neck was not on her spine correctly, and there was something wrong with her individual vertebres so sitting for a period of time is very painful for her. Even if someone would lightly touch her back she would scream in pain and we would constantly find her lying in the back of the bus on her back to try and ease her constant pain. Well, in Colorado she was playing the piano for a host family and she had to stop because she could not bear the pain anymore, and they asked her, "Do you want to be healed?" She did, and they prayed for the specific things that were wrong and she felt an warmth come upon her back and could feel movement. She has felt no pain for two weeks. God is amazing!
I wish I could tell you more, but I must be going. But the Spirit is so strongly in our performances. God is moving and I am so humbled to be apart of it. Pray that I would continue to trust in Him and depend on Him and not go into a ritual of performance.
Pray for our bodies that they would stay health
Please also pray for financials. Our team still needs to raise $18,000 by Monday or we will not go to the Philippines. Pray for God to provide!!
Thank you and the Lords Blessing be upon you!
Holly
In this post I wanted to share with you a few ways I have seen the hand of God on our ministry. First off, for the past week and a half my throat has been getting soar. It isn't because we sing everyday, but it is because I am not able to get a good 8 hours of sleep every night. But what I have been experiencing is amazing! I will have a soar throat all day and night, but when I get on stage to sing my throat does not hurt at all and I am able to sing with ease.
A girl on our team, Angela our piano player, has experienced a healing as well. In January she found out she had a lot of back problems; her neck was not on her spine correctly, and there was something wrong with her individual vertebres so sitting for a period of time is very painful for her. Even if someone would lightly touch her back she would scream in pain and we would constantly find her lying in the back of the bus on her back to try and ease her constant pain. Well, in Colorado she was playing the piano for a host family and she had to stop because she could not bear the pain anymore, and they asked her, "Do you want to be healed?" She did, and they prayed for the specific things that were wrong and she felt an warmth come upon her back and could feel movement. She has felt no pain for two weeks. God is amazing!
I wish I could tell you more, but I must be going. But the Spirit is so strongly in our performances. God is moving and I am so humbled to be apart of it. Pray that I would continue to trust in Him and depend on Him and not go into a ritual of performance.
Pray for our bodies that they would stay health
Please also pray for financials. Our team still needs to raise $18,000 by Monday or we will not go to the Philippines. Pray for God to provide!!
Thank you and the Lords Blessing be upon you!
Holly
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The Tour has Begun!
Hello Everyone!
Well, our rehersal camp ended on the 18th with our first performance on the 19th! Praise the Lord that we were able to put together (AND Memorize) a set of 14 songs! The camp sure was intense; we sang from 6-8 hours a day (so now singing anywhere from 2-6 hours a day seems like nothing!), and had a speaker each night. I truly believe it was the Lord who kept me healthy so that I did not loose my voice.
During the camp I had an amazing experience with the Lord. I had this longing to go and focus on prayer so and God led me to the book of Matthew. I turned to chapter 6 (either 5 or 6, my Bible is not handy at the moment) and read about how we are not to pray for others but for the Lord. As I focused on that passage in prayer, the wind blew two pages over to chapter 9 and I thought, 'If God wants me to learn anything on this page, it is going to be highlighted'. The Only thing highlighted on that page was the words, 'According to your faith will it be done to you'.
So it is with our ministry. We must have faith that God is and can use us. I must have faith that God can use me to reach out to others, even when I can feel so unworthy. God is an awesome God!
Since the 19th we have had a performance everyday except form Monday where we finally traveled out of Califormia and stayed the night in Flagstaff Arizona. Yesterday, Tuesday, we then drove to Santa Fe New Mexico and had one mass and one performance.
I have to tell you how amazed I am at how the Holy Spirit is moving! I know that music is powerful, but I feel so blessed to have God using me to minister into peoples lives.
My prayer for the past few weeks has been that I would be sensitive to the Spirit and His work. I have been desiring that because I want to be led by him in my worship, and led by him to pray with the people in the audience, instead of me trying to 'figure it out'. So far I am blessed to be hearing him and ministering to people after our performances. Please pray for my sensitivity to the spiritual realm.
Also, please pray that we would be a team united in Christ, with love, grace, and mercy for eachother. Satan wants to stop the work that we are doing and being in a small bus with little to no private space, it becomes harder and hard to be giving grace to others. Pray that for the problems that occur that we would be assertive and confront them, especially with love. Please pray all these things also for me personally.
Pray for voices to stay healthy, good night sleeps, healthy chops for instrumentalists and the annointing of the Holy Spirit on our ministry. Please also pray for financial support. Our team still has 25-28,000 to raise and we need the money to buy tickets and travel.
Also if you are in the Wisconsin/Illinoise region, we shall be in Mc Henry Il on July 1 ! the information is:
Tuesday, July 1 7:00 pm
Mc Henry Evangelical Free Church
2614 N. Ringwood Rd.
Mc. Henry, Il 60050
CH 815-344-1111
Rev. Cal Hiebert
I apologise for any errors in grammer or spelling, I only have a few minutes to write to you on my host families computer. Tonight we shall be heading to Pueble Co!
This ministry does have its challenges but it has been an amazing blessing from God. Thank you for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for me and my team.
In Christ
Holly
Well, our rehersal camp ended on the 18th with our first performance on the 19th! Praise the Lord that we were able to put together (AND Memorize) a set of 14 songs! The camp sure was intense; we sang from 6-8 hours a day (so now singing anywhere from 2-6 hours a day seems like nothing!), and had a speaker each night. I truly believe it was the Lord who kept me healthy so that I did not loose my voice.
During the camp I had an amazing experience with the Lord. I had this longing to go and focus on prayer so and God led me to the book of Matthew. I turned to chapter 6 (either 5 or 6, my Bible is not handy at the moment) and read about how we are not to pray for others but for the Lord. As I focused on that passage in prayer, the wind blew two pages over to chapter 9 and I thought, 'If God wants me to learn anything on this page, it is going to be highlighted'. The Only thing highlighted on that page was the words, 'According to your faith will it be done to you'.
So it is with our ministry. We must have faith that God is and can use us. I must have faith that God can use me to reach out to others, even when I can feel so unworthy. God is an awesome God!
Since the 19th we have had a performance everyday except form Monday where we finally traveled out of Califormia and stayed the night in Flagstaff Arizona. Yesterday, Tuesday, we then drove to Santa Fe New Mexico and had one mass and one performance.
I have to tell you how amazed I am at how the Holy Spirit is moving! I know that music is powerful, but I feel so blessed to have God using me to minister into peoples lives.
My prayer for the past few weeks has been that I would be sensitive to the Spirit and His work. I have been desiring that because I want to be led by him in my worship, and led by him to pray with the people in the audience, instead of me trying to 'figure it out'. So far I am blessed to be hearing him and ministering to people after our performances. Please pray for my sensitivity to the spiritual realm.
Also, please pray that we would be a team united in Christ, with love, grace, and mercy for eachother. Satan wants to stop the work that we are doing and being in a small bus with little to no private space, it becomes harder and hard to be giving grace to others. Pray that for the problems that occur that we would be assertive and confront them, especially with love. Please pray all these things also for me personally.
Pray for voices to stay healthy, good night sleeps, healthy chops for instrumentalists and the annointing of the Holy Spirit on our ministry. Please also pray for financial support. Our team still has 25-28,000 to raise and we need the money to buy tickets and travel.
Also if you are in the Wisconsin/Illinoise region, we shall be in Mc Henry Il on July 1 ! the information is:
Tuesday, July 1 7:00 pm
Mc Henry Evangelical Free Church
2614 N. Ringwood Rd.
Mc. Henry, Il 60050
CH 815-344-1111
Rev. Cal Hiebert
I apologise for any errors in grammer or spelling, I only have a few minutes to write to you on my host families computer. Tonight we shall be heading to Pueble Co!
This ministry does have its challenges but it has been an amazing blessing from God. Thank you for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for me and my team.
In Christ
Holly
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Praise and Prayer Requests
Hello Everyone!
A few quick updates. First, I recieved a daily itinerary and it turns out that we will not be traveling to Montreal, Canada. There were some complications with coordinating our bus travel with flights, but we will still be going to the Philippines!
Also, I am joyous to let all of you know that I have recieved over 100% of my fundraising! Praise the Lord for He has truly provided for me! With the extra amount I have recieved, I will be able to help out my teammates who have had less time to fundraise (some as short as two weeks!)
Monday, the 9th, I will be heading to California to begin our preparation for our summer tour. From the 9th through the 18th we will be at St. Nicholas Ranch & Retreat Center in Dunlap and on the 19th we will begin our tour! While we are at the camp I will not have access to the Internet.
Please Keep me and my team in your prayers. Pray for:
A few quick updates. First, I recieved a daily itinerary and it turns out that we will not be traveling to Montreal, Canada. There were some complications with coordinating our bus travel with flights, but we will still be going to the Philippines!
Also, I am joyous to let all of you know that I have recieved over 100% of my fundraising! Praise the Lord for He has truly provided for me! With the extra amount I have recieved, I will be able to help out my teammates who have had less time to fundraise (some as short as two weeks!)
Monday, the 9th, I will be heading to California to begin our preparation for our summer tour. From the 9th through the 18th we will be at St. Nicholas Ranch & Retreat Center in Dunlap and on the 19th we will begin our tour! While we are at the camp I will not have access to the Internet.
Please Keep me and my team in your prayers. Pray for:
- Safe travels to the camp on Monday
- A productive and fun camp experience: music prepared, team bonding, growing our relationship with God
- Any spiritual attacks on our mission trip
- That I would not have a spirit of timidity or fear, but have faith in an awesome God.
Thank you so much for your prayers!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Welcome
Hello and Welcome to my online blog!
My hope for this site is that I will be able to keep everyone up-to-date on how my summer is going, and also be able to share my prayer requests more frequently. My plan, at the moment, is to write an entry about once every week or two weeks but that will all depend on my host families. Our concerts are always connected to a local church ministry, and then we stay at the homes of those families while we are in the area. So my Internet access will depend on if my hosts have the Internet and if they are willing to let me use it.
So far the information I know on where we are traveling is limited. The first two weeks of June we will be in a camp at Fresno, California. There we will be practicing our music, training for our performances and getting to know each other more (so that we feel like a family instead of strangers). After that we begin our tour!!!
So far I know we will be spending 1 week in New York, 1 week in Montreal, Canada, and 2 weeks in the Philippines. When I get to camp, I will receive a full schedule, and I will have a friend post it up here for all of you (since I will not have access to the Internet at the camp).
With fundraising, I needed to raise $4400 for the summer, and I now have only $622 left to go! God is amazing, and I know He will provide for me. Thank you so much for your support, be it financial or your prayers. I have been able to see Gods provision and love through the acts of love displayed by all of you. God has grown me so much through this process of fundraising; I cannot wait to see what he will do in me this summer! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve our Lord!
Next week, when leaving begins to feel a little more real, I will post prayer requests that have been laid on my heart. Until then, pray for Gods provision financially, and that He will be preparing me emotionally, spiritually, and physically for this summer.
In Him,
Holly Ericson
My hope for this site is that I will be able to keep everyone up-to-date on how my summer is going, and also be able to share my prayer requests more frequently. My plan, at the moment, is to write an entry about once every week or two weeks but that will all depend on my host families. Our concerts are always connected to a local church ministry, and then we stay at the homes of those families while we are in the area. So my Internet access will depend on if my hosts have the Internet and if they are willing to let me use it.
So far the information I know on where we are traveling is limited. The first two weeks of June we will be in a camp at Fresno, California. There we will be practicing our music, training for our performances and getting to know each other more (so that we feel like a family instead of strangers). After that we begin our tour!!!
So far I know we will be spending 1 week in New York, 1 week in Montreal, Canada, and 2 weeks in the Philippines. When I get to camp, I will receive a full schedule, and I will have a friend post it up here for all of you (since I will not have access to the Internet at the camp).
With fundraising, I needed to raise $4400 for the summer, and I now have only $622 left to go! God is amazing, and I know He will provide for me. Thank you so much for your support, be it financial or your prayers. I have been able to see Gods provision and love through the acts of love displayed by all of you. God has grown me so much through this process of fundraising; I cannot wait to see what he will do in me this summer! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve our Lord!
Next week, when leaving begins to feel a little more real, I will post prayer requests that have been laid on my heart. Until then, pray for Gods provision financially, and that He will be preparing me emotionally, spiritually, and physically for this summer.
In Him,
Holly Ericson
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