Notes, Thoughts, Dreams, and Truth

 Today was the first day of the festival at the camp Beit El Wadi.

BFC Team with our friend Shady

Greg, Balloon TW, and Wes

Arabic writing

The church in charge of running this festival is Kasr El Dobara, the biggeset church in Egypt with 7,000 members. God is doing amazing things here in Egypt.  The Egyptian government is based on Muslim beliefs.  I have talked to many of my Egyptian friends trying to better understand the culture here in Egypt.  We are blessed in America in the way that we can be open with our faith without getting badly persecuted.  In Egypt it is ok for a Christian to convert to the Muslim faith but if a Muslim converts to Christianity and if their family and/or government find them out they will be killed.  In Egypt each person must carry an I.D. with his or her name and religion on it. The religion will be Christianity or Muslim.  If a person is found without his I.D. the police will take the person away and question him and may beat him.  Many who are Christian are not born-again Christians who have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Many in Egypt don’t understand God to be a loving God who desires a relationship.

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We (Boarders for Christ) get three days to perform and share our ability to skateboard with the people.  Each day we will be doing two demonstrations. Each day consists of different performances such as Dustin, who is one of the world’s best freestyle Unicyclists, and Team Xtreme, which consists of Christian Body builders, Justin, whom is an illusionist, and a Gospel worship team.  At the end of each night everyone who attends the festival gather inside a huge stadium to hear a gospel speaker.  Tonight Nick Vujicic preached and shared his story.  He has no arms and legs.  He said, “I had faith and I prayed for arms and legs. God said no. When God says no to one thing, he says yes to something else.”  Nick shared that if he did get arms and legs that 100,000s of people would not have gotten to hear his story and been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ.  In my life God said no to healing my mother.  I asked God for parents, and a family. He allowed me to experience loss and pain but he has also allowed me to travel and share my story to many around the globe. God has allowed me to be broken and to experience healing so that I may be able to preach to the broken and share that Jesus Christ has healed my broken heart and fulfilled the emptiness and loneliness in my heart.  Many who are broken, empty, and lonely need to fill that with a relationship with Jesus Christ because putting hope in the world and going to drugs, alcohol, sex, and relationship with girls or guys will only give you temporary pleasure but never complete satisfaction and joy.

Night Gathering

Tonight 920 accepted Jesus Christ as their personal God and savior at the meeting at the stadium.  This is based on the cards collected by the church.  After our demos we allowed the people to come onto the tennis court where we skated for prayer.  I lead two different people to the Lord today.  I prayed for a young guy who said he needed peace and a personal relationship with Jesus.  The other man who wanted a relationship with Jesus asked for prayer for him and his wife and that God will reconcile their marriage and teach them to love each other.  I felt so unworthy but privileged to pray for their marriage since I am young, 21 years and still single.  God hears the prayers of the faithful and is willing to give to those who ask.  Praise Jesus for this!  Angels rejoiced today in heaven over these two lost souls, plus the many more that 100s of staff and volunteers prayed for after our skateboard demo.  An 18-year-old girl was delivered from a demon.  One of our guys with Boarders for Christ had the opportunity to be apart of an exorcism praying over a girl who was possessed by a demon after the death of her father.  After the demon left her body she immediately gave her life to the Lord and spent time in worship with the men who had been in the room praying over her.  This sounds unreal but it is very real.  We do not see demon possessed people and healing in America as much because many of us are so focused on our luxuries and have little faith.  In the middle-east to have faith comes with a cost.

Skateboard Demo area

I interviewed my Egyptian friend, Ehab Fawzy. He says he sees the Holy Spirit present here at the festival and that God wants to do more.  He says the Lord is happy and that he can see Jesus smiling and crying for the lost, both Muslim and Christian unbelievers. Ehab says, “God will do miracles with those who put their life in His hands.”

I asked Ehab what impact has Boarders for Christ made in Egyot.

Ehab-“Something so different…We only see skateboarding in American movies. People come to see the sport, and emotions, its so amusing. It’s wonderful.  Anyone who shares his story like Wes, and the others, it shows the people they have problems too and still trust in Jesus…Make them think to accept Jesus.  Egyptian people like anyone from outside the country.  An Egyptian and American can have the same story, but people love outsiders to come and speak.

I asked Ehab how we can join in to specifically pray for Egypt and this is what we came up with. PLEASE JOIN IN TO PRAY WITH US FOR THE COUNTRY OF EGYPT AND THE MIDDLE EAST!

PRAYER NEEDS: People who are poor (upper Egypt), Government, unbeliever Christians, Unity of all Christians (Coptic, Orthedox do not like Evangelical)

Today our team set up the skateboard park on the tennis court at the camp.  We started our morning with breakfast and then worship and prayer with the festival staff, volunteers, and performers.  The festival starts tomorrow. It will consists of a skateboard demo, professional wrestling, Team Xtreme(body builder), Marshal arts, and will have a rope course, and a place for kids to hang out and play.  After all the performances each night the people will meet in the stadium and will get to hear the gospel message from the pastor who works at the church here in Cairo.

Skatepark

PRAYER NEEDS: Pray for safety of the performers, and speakers. Pray for the safety of any muslims who may try and come to the festival. As a muslim you will be persecuted, maybe even killed if you are caught at a Christian festival.  Pray for us to have open doors to speak one on one with the people who attend the festival. Pray for our team as we will speak twice a day for three days.  Tomorrow Is the one year mark/date of my mothers death on November 20th, 2008.  Pray for me that I may keep a clear head and trust in God with my emotions and be able to preach clearly tomorrow and speak with boldness as I share my story.

Our skateboard team @ Boarders for Christ is headed to Egypt for the second time.  Check out the video recap from last years trip below.

Last year I was planning on going to Egypt and canceled the day I found out my mother was dying of cancer.  My mother had salvation and understood that things did not end when she would die here on this earth. She knew she would be with Jesus and experience beauty far beyond what I could see being here on this earth. She understood the beauty within skateboarding and the creativity that it involved.  I remember my mother driving up 2 hours to meet me in North Carolina last year just to drop off a pair of Nike skate shoes that she bought me from Bluetile Skateshop.  My mother supported me in skateboarding and was supportive of others within our local skate scene within Columbia, South Carolina. She supportive me so much as to tell me not to drop of the tour until the end, even though she knew she was dying of cancer.  She did not even tell me how critical the disease had become until I returned home from tour. As I lay by my mother’s bedside for those last two weeks, she spoke words of wisdom into my life.  She spoke to me saying, “Wes, God created you for a purpose to fulfill his will. The creativity through skateboarding was the outlet that God had chosen to give you to share with the world.”

She knew that she would soon die and she asked me to go to Egypt for her, to be apart in the skateboard demo at the festival and not to give up on serving others and God.  She passed away from stage IV cancer on November 20^th, 2008 in the early afternoon.

That same day I called weeping over the phone telling Chris at BFC headquarters the news and asking him what I had to do to still come to Egypt.  All the other guys had their funds raised and tickets book way in advance.  It was Thursday and I had to get my money in by that Monday in order to go to Egypt.  He said I needed to raise $3500.00 to cover the expenses for the flight.  That Monday we had my mothers memorial and just by word of mouth from others the amount for my flight plus extra was raised.  My ticket was booked and I made my way to Cairo to meet the rest of the Boarders for Christ team the Friday after I lost my mother.  The bible says, “Through Christ strength all things are possible.” At the festival I got to speak to about 2,000 people how I surrendered my idol of skateboarding to have a loving relationship with God and to serve him by living a life that reflects the face of love.  God has a bigger plan for the lives of those who choose to surrender their plan to follow after Christ and His plan.  It was by Gods grace I was still able to go to the festival in Egypt and share my story to the people of Cairo.  Being in Egypt seeing the need for salvation within such a dark country took away all my complaints within my current circumstances.  My heart began to break for the lost and for those who had not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ so I along with Boarders for Christ have decided to attend this years festival located in Cairo at camp "Beit El Wadi".  God is bigger than our current circumstances and pains and when he calls us to surrender our plans and to "go" we must be willing to go wherever he may call us and do whatever it may be even if it means going to a country to skateboard and preach the gospel even if its the week after loosing the closest person you have ever know. 

Life is filled with tears from pain and stress creeps in so easily but who is to say it is in vain?  I believe that God has allowed pain and suffering to challenge his followers and strengthen them in their faith and in character.  This year has been a painful challenge and the tears I have shed are many.  I am encouraged greatly now and have been getting truth spoken into my life by God himself and many mentors and brothers and sisters he has intentionally placed in my life.  God has taken so much from me and has stripped away everything I put hope in so that he could gain my attention and teach me how to rely on Him alone and be content with my relationship with Him, finding rest in Him.

Its been a long while since Ive written anything. I apologize to all my supporters who ive promised to write. I have not done well at keeping updates. I have been home after touring for 10 days in the midwest with Boarders for Christ. The west-coast tour fell through. Working two jobs and having fellowship at Midtown Fellowship Church in South Carolina.  God has connected me with an amazing lifegroup and group of guys who I meet weekly to have a bible study with. Since my mother passed away last november I have lost a lot of inspiration and my dreams have been shattered into pieces like glass. My heart has been bruised and the pain has been a constant struggle. Ten months later I still cry some nights but its more out of brokenness and knowing I was meant for something more and to be out in the world and in the extreme sports industry and the nations of the world being a reflection of Gods heart.  Im working two jobs in Columbia. God has been my provider. I moved out of Barry and Nikkis house a few weeks ago and found a house to rent with two guys. Barry and Nikki Russell have been such a blessing in my life and I love them so much.  They have been and are family now and accept me into their home with all my brokenness and showed me what love is and how to lead a Godly family of my own someday.  They set a high standard on how I want to live my life and treat my family. I am working at an auto repair shop during the week doing detail work and at a local indoor skatepark watching the park and teaching skate lessons to kids.  I am home working and praying about moving to Hawaii to be a missionary amongst the islands and internationally.  Im home now and trusting in Gods timing and learning patience that I lack many of times.  My heart has been broken but God is showing me true healing and love and I am falling in love with Him and desiring to do nothing more than to please him. I do not believe in a check list or putting on a show as a Christian, but in a relationship that is worth dying for.  My relationship with the Lord is growing.  I have realized that I substitute temporary fulfillment for eternal fulfillment that I could get from God many of times. Im praying that I may be obedient to the Lords will and have faith.  I had faith that my mother would be healed. She was not and it crashed my world, it shook me, shook my faith and beliefs and God is having to reshape my dreams and he is putting the broken pieces back together to build a beautiful picture using the pain and using all the brokenness to make something with more color...

I apologize to all my supporters for not keeping up with my blog. 

Thursday, March 5th, I flew from Newark, New Jersey to Oahu, Hawaii.  I will be in Hawaii for one month working with a missions based ministry called Surfing the Nations a.k.a. STN.  STN is in a time of transition and the headquarters has moved from Honolulu, about 45 minutes from Northshore, to Wahiawa, which is about 15 minutes from North shore.  STN has purchased an old bar and a arpartment/hotel complex right beyond it.  The hotel is 3 stories high and is where the STN interns, and staff live.  The guys at STN are renovating the bar and working to turn it into a coffee shop style community center opened up to the public for outreach.  I fly out with a team to the island of Molokai  March 10th and we will be there for two weeks.  We are hosting a skateboard contest and BBQ for the local kids.  The contest will be held at the local skate park that STN built last year.  The day after we will be having an after party at a local church and premiering a video by a Christian skateboard company.  God is doing an incredible work over here in Hawaii.  STN interns and staff are provided with housing and food that comes from the local food bank.  They go out and feed the homeless each week and provide clothing and food for those in need.   In Molokai we will be traveling to a lepers colony to spend time with those who are fighting the disease, leprosy, and serving them for three days.  Surfing the Nations is filled with amazing young men and women who are out there serving selflessly.  There are people from Sweden, Australia, and from all over the states such as New Jersey, and California.  Being here is challenging and takes me out of my comfort zone but I am in the place I need to be most, broken and open to the Lords work in my life.  I am so stoked to be out here serving.

writing from Wahiawa, HI
Saturday 5:43PM
March 7th, 2009