News
10.08.2006I've put some more photos up at my space here.:-) colleen
9.22.2006
Right before the glow sticks came out...
A band photo or just waitin' for the train?
Look below at September posts, I've added pictures!!!
9.21.2006Thanks to bro Tom for taking the time during our trip to shoot up some updates. First of all, it was just amazing to be with bro Mike and sis Kristin again. We've all missed each other greatly, all the while knowing that the Lord has us all where we belong. They're still crazy as ever. It was great to see bro Borre again too. He cut up the keys like never before. Kristin said that she couldn't see his fingers because they were moving so fast and he said he would put that on his resume'. Our newly found brothers Ivar and Bard, the other token Norwegians (hey wait, we're outnumbered!), couldn't have done better and really gelled with us on every level: musically, spiritually, relationally. The Lord really pulled this one together and we're all extremely grateful. We missed bros Scott and Chris for everything they ever brought to the table. You're loved, guys.
Our hosts, the Bowdens and my roommate Amy, were Hosties of the Mostie. All great folks with good hearts and hard-working. The JoyFest went off without a hitch (that i was aware of) and that is an extremely difficult feat for anyone, let alone someone with no prior experience putting on a festival. But they have hearts to reach the Czech people (81% of which claim to be atheist) and I believe it made some ripples in the water, and will have affect beyond what any of us could know.
We spoke with at least four people who travelled between 200-300km just to see Seeds. One man said he bought a Seeds CD five years ago in Prague. We spoke to him throughout both Saturday and Sunday (via interpreter) about many things. There was a young couple who were interested in rastafarianism, who came to our show because they saw Scott's dreads on the poster. The Troxels enjoyed speaking with them for quite a while, encouraging them to continue seeking the truth.
The fest was called JoyFest, and I thought later about how anytime we all got together in the van to travel somewhere (*very* often) it seems like we did nothing but laugh till we cried. Definitely some of our unintential lyrical changes provided fuel for the fire! Such as Kristin's intro to Rivers: "Ah virsty zzh zimby, amd i'zh mlooking for water...." or something like that. Then there was our quite long discussion about being abroad. Good clean fun. Then we had to tease the Norwegians about svitching the v's and w's. ve laughed till our stomachs ached, then at a pause i asked Borre how (his wife Vebeke) Webeke vas. And i'll try to relate quickly a missionary story Mike Bowden shared with us:
When Mike was new in Czech, and learning the language, he would go across the street to a little vendor who sold sausages to practice his latest phrases on him. He decided to make a further connection with him and bought a summer sausage. Well, when he took it home and cut it up, there were some chunks of fat in it that had a bit of an undesireable odor, so his family refused to touch it. But he thought, "if the Czech people do it, I will learn to like it." He kept it in wrapped in a plastic bag to prevent the smell from taking over the fridge and ate some every day until he could stand it no longer. Finally he thought he would ask the vendor how long it would stay good. So he returned and asked the man, "How long does this sausage stay edible before spoiling?" and the man replied, "Well, as long as your dog will eat it." Dog food! Mmmm. What a beautiful missions story....
Well enough for now i suppose. Thanks so much for all your prayers and other contributions. Without you this crazy Seeds ministry would be much less interesting. We feel blessed beyond words.
Much love, from abroad,
colleen
9.20.2006
Thank you for your prayers, we are home!
More pictures soon...
9.17.2006
SEEDS had an amazing time in Czech! JOYFEST went great, the weather was perfect and around 300-400 people came in to check out this first time event for all ages. There was fun activities for children and different styles of music.
Ivar, our guitarist from Norway, did a solo worship set playing Borre's keyboard. Borre also went solo by being the only band member to get eggs thrown at him. A few landed in his hair. I'll let him tell you the full story.
The SEEDS set went great. The Troxels each shared well from stage as always, I shared my testimony again, and right before "Parable" Colleen gave a bold invitation to everyone that Jesus stands at the door of your heart (Rev. 3:10) if you would just let him in. We hung out and talked to many Czechs throughout the whole event.
Early the next morning we played at a church that meets in an old Russian military base. Around 150 people came to that service and we recognized many faces from JOYFEST. We had an amazing Czech lunch and spent the rest of the day and night, until midnight, in Prague. What a beautiful city!!!
Please pray for safe tavels as we all head for home!!!
Thanks, TC
9.16.2006
We arrived Friday afternoon and played our first show at a church about 45 minutes from the Bowdens. The town of 7,000 had about 70 members in the young church. About one percent or half of one percent of the CR would consider themselves Christians.
During our concert, we shared stories of God's love and protection, the importance of forgiveness, and I shared my testimony. Around ten non-believers were there. After the concert, a man from Croatia shared his testimony with me.
Today is the BIG outreach at the JOYFEST near Prague!
Keep praying that many in Czech will get to know JESUS personally!
TC
9.13.2006
We had two successful practices Tuesday and Wednesday. Ivar and Bard have prepared well with Borre and Trox and we are ready to leave for Oslo Thursday night (our flights leave early Friday AM).
We stopped for prayer in peoples homes a few times today and I've met some wonderful believers here in Norway. The Troxels took us out for tasty Chinese food and we took a walk through the city of Kristiansand.
More from Prague, CR...
PS Thanks for your continued prayer support!!!
9.12.2006
Mike picked up Coll and I in Oslo, Norway yesterday and we were able to see a little of the amazing beauty God made in Norway in our seven hour drive to the island where the Troxels live. We took a few extra hours of driving looking for an old Viking church but we couldn't find it. But the back roads of Norway brought much beauty and we had great conversations with brother Trox whom we deeply miss which made the long trip well worth it.
At first it reminded me of the U.P. and even Wisconsin and Minnesota. When I woke up this morning in Flekkeroy, near Kristiansand, it reminded me of a recent family vacation to Lubec, Maine. The ocean is breathtaking and a neighbor took me crab hunting. Later we hope to take a swim and go exploring the coast on a boat.
We meet the rest of our team today and will practice tonight and much of Weds. We leave back to Oslo Thursday and then arrive in the CR Friday for our weekend outreach.
I love You LORD and I life my voice,
Tom
8.19.2006
Please continue to pray for SEEDS as we practice in anticipation for our September outreach in Norway and the Czech Republic.
More details coming soon, TC
8.03.2006SEEDS is coming together for yet another outreach, this time the LORD has us planting His love in the Czech Republic. Unforunately, not ALL of SEEDS will be there (only five out of seven band members). Mike and Kristin Troxel, along with keyboard extraordinaire Borre Moinichen, will be traveling to the Czech Republic from Norway. Colleen Davick and myself will be flying in from the US. Scott and Chris will not be joining us. Which means we are in need of a drummer and lead guitarist for this mission trip. The LORD knows all our needs and we know He will provide. However, we ask for your continued prayers.
***A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has been praying and given $ to make this mission trip happen. We are in the process of buying tickets for next month (September) and creating our itinerary. The need for JESUS is great in the Czech Republic. Please pray that the Lord will direct our paths as we plan what to do and where. We have been invited to share on the streets, go to prisons, coffeehouses, etc.
Pray also for our hosts the Bowdens http://www.teamczech.org/bowden.html
More details coming soon, Tom Crozier
7.17.2006Thank you to those of you who told me you're sending in donations for the Czech Rebuplic mission trip. As of today, we have $2,140 in donations.
We have TWO WEEKS LEFT (8/1 is our cut-off date) to decide if all of SEEDS can go on this mission trip. We still need $1,860 ($4,000 total will buy four plane tickets and CD's).
We need your help. And please continue praying for us as we seek the Lord's wisdom and guidance regarding this great opportunity to share the love of Christ in a land that is searching.
Before Cornerstone, an article appeared in the Chicago Tribune called 'Does God have a prayer in Europe?' The article says, "Czech are among Europe's most fervently secular people (81% are atheists)" according to a survey by the EU (writer Tom Hundley). Hundley ends the article saying that Czechs "are looking for something, for (spiritual) guidance...."
Jesus is the answer,
TC
7.09.2006CORNERSTONE festival went well. Great music, great seminars, great ministry, etc.
Please tell us your stories if you were there.
Also, check out www.cornerstonefestival.com
SEEDS was offered a plane ticket to the Czech from a brother and friend we all love!
We are getting closer but still need more money to go.
If you have been thinking about helping us get to the Czech, then please let us know soon. We'd like to buy plane tickets ASAP.
Thank you for serving JESUS with us!
Tom
tcrozier@jpusa.org
6.27.2006One week until the Cornerstone Festival begins!!!
Please pray for safety and that many people will begin a relationship with JESUS and that many people will decide to follow and serve Him.
The finances are still needed if SEEDS goes on a mission trip to Czech.
THANK YOU to those who have already given.
Willing to serve,
Tom in Bushnell, IL
6.25.2006We mourn the passing, and celebrate the transformation, of our dear brother Bill Russell. Bill and Dee for years were faithful to run the Grain Coffeehouse in Marshall, MI where Seeds and the Crossing and others of us were blessed to play. Bill played smokin' guitar for Shelly (Aracely) when she started playing on her own. He didn't slow down over the past couple years, in fact did more and more, and I know we all really respect him and Dee for their example. "Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord."
-colleen
6.13.2006SEEDS has $1,340 towards a mission trip to Czech.
Please pray that the LORD would provide our needs IF He wants us to go.
Thanks for your financial help and keep letting us know your thoughts.
We are willing to go but we need your help.
We hope to get the remaining finances within a month.
Wanting to sow seeds again,
Tom
tcrozier@jpusa.org
5.30.2006
Last Fall, SEEDS performed several concerts in Israel. One of several concerts at the Beresheet Festival by the Sea of Galilee was main stage (<---- picture). Thanks to ALL of you who supported us in prayer and/or sent $. We were given around $10,000 towards this mission trip.
This Fall (2006), SEEDS has been invited to the Czech Republic to perform a few concerts and share the love of JESUS with as many people as we can. With the Troxels and Borre in Norway, we'd like to share what God has done in our lives in their homeland as well.
Therefore, we're asking you to support us in prayer and we're asking people to help us with traveling costs once again. Does God really want SEEDS in Czech and Norway? Let us know your thoughts, Thanks, Tom
tcrozier@jpusa.org
3.01.2006
SHALOM- I am just writing to say that i am not dead and am still much alive. The L-RD has been walking with me through some very intimate and difficult life decisions. I felt the fire of the purging through Christ my L-RD growing me into a deeper man and more considerate and loving friend to my girlfriend. I am always writing and playing and don't know if SEEDS will ever be together again but through my pastor and friend Tom Cameron I will continue to write and play in our worship teams here at J-SUS PEOPLE u.s.a .
Thank you all for supporting us and keeping us safe in your prayers. We love you and check out our webpage for future info. and for the "SEEDS live in Jerusalem" Bootleg
Brother Red Squirrel
2.21.2006Tonight our friend Josh Garrels is coming in to record a bit at our studio in Chicago for a couple days, and Scott will be contributing some guitar. It's possible that Grrr (our label) will start carrying some of Josh's CDs soon. Definitely check him out.
In other musical side-project news, there's talk of trying to do some more Busker Kibbutznik jive. In case you don't know, it's the worldbeat/spoken word oddity that has always had a revolving door membership, but a very distinctive sound. Members of Seeds (Scott, myself), as well as the Crossing, Ballydowse, and others at Jesus People USA have sat in, and the possibilities of creativity are endless since there have never been any real set genre rules. So look out at Cornerstone Festival for such an event.
Thanks for those continued notes of encouragement to us, and requests for shows, etc. We'll keep answering, and post here any inklings of Seeds happenings.
-colleen
1.13.2006While in Israel, we played a show at King of Kings, a congregation which has a great new facility in the center of Jerusalem in the Pavillion. Their sound guy was kind enough to record our show off the board, and we brought it home, tweaked it some, and pressed some copies. The live bootleg quality is evident, but the energy and spirit of the show are too. Grab a copy for only six bucks at Grrr Records!
-colleen
1.04.2006Just a few things: first, there was a technical problem with the fan reviews (under Press) that I've fixed now. I put in a couple letters from our dear friends in Israel that are worth reading. Second, here's the message from the Troxels about their arrival in Norway:
God is so Good. When I got to the airport I was kinda bummin about leaving and we had so much luggage and so many extra carry-ons that I prayed "God please give us favor with the airline." Well he heard my prayer. SAS was the most amazing airline i have ever flown on. So comfy and they (without me asking) got us an extra seat for Sammy sitting right with us. We had our car seat so he sat in it the whole time. Each seat had its own video screen and you could pick between about 10 differant movies/shows to watch. So I set the kids up on Robots and I watched War of the Worlds. The food was good and the people very nice.
But during the trip the reality of just leaving Jpusa kept kicking its way back into my head. At points I was thinking "what have I done?". Maybe we shoud just go back. I even worked out some speaches. I was like "God if this is you for real just continue to lead us." I asked for his favor when we arrived. I said "Lord, I don't mind if it's hard, just give us some blessings to start with." Well, we arrived to a welcome with about 15 people including Borre and his friend with guitars playing Love Your Naybor as we came out the doors. Another of our freinds was there and she found us a house to live in at the Covenant seminary staff housing (which is a duplex). We can move in in a week and stay till at least next Augest. It is also about half the cost of any other housing in the Kristiansand area! The best part is we will be living with the staff of the Bible school and it is walking distance from Borre and Vibeka, the friend that found it for us and to the ocean. WOW! We saw the house today and it's so amazing! Giant glass doors that overlook the ocean and the Fjords. We will watch the sun set every night from our living room, bedroom and outside porch. It has 3 rooms and it is more than I could have ever dreamed of. I'll send pics soon. Kristin's cousin was there and she and her husband sells used cars. They are giving us a car at their cost. It's a Ford stationwagon diesel turbo. We are getting it for about 1/3 the cost. Amazing!!!
I woke up last night to get a drink and I was like "wow I am in Norway." Is this all some weird dream? No this is reality. I am still buzzing from all this surreal reality. I must press into the Lord! He IS faithfull!!! Today we started my immigration process and visited the school that Charlie and I will attend. It was absolutly amazing. I tell you its like a private school. 11 kids in Charlie's class and it's free and only for immigrants. We will build many relationships with people from all over the world. I am enrolled in a language class that is also for immigrants. I start the 30 of jan. I am very excited to learn the language but again the relationships are what I am very excted about.
Everywhere we go smells like pines and camp fires. It is so beautiful here. I am sure I will miss the city at some point but right now its just amazing. I will keep you posted as to God's faithful interaction. I choose whole heartedly... to Trust Him. Stepping out, Trox
12.21.2005Hey friends! Yes, the Troxels now reside in Norway. We were all a messy, tear-laden lot as they went off. But, though we'll miss them terribly (and I can't imagine HOW in the world they'll get along without US!), I think we're all excited to see what the Lord has planned for them. Already it's been amazing for them, and with their okay, I'll paste up a copy of the email Mike sent after they arrived. Or perhaps they can blog here themselves.
I guess I need to catch us up a little, mainly on our Last Show. We played 3Js in Johnstown, Colorado to a crowd of friends, family, and the expectant relatives of Ben. Ben arranged for us to be there, and if it hadn't been for his special circumstances, we would have never played a show 1) so far away, 2) so close to Christmas, 3) so close to the Troxels leaving. He flew us out for the occasion of surprizing his girlfriend with a marriage proposal. They had met at a Seeds show four years ago. It was a beautiful thing, and added to the evening of Special-ness, and truthfully I'm sure it distracted us in a good way (at least Kristin and I!) from becoming a blubbering bunch of goofs thinking of our Last Show:-) It was truly a blast. The Millers traversed the mountains from Granby to be with us, and the Wardyns drove 4 hours from North Platte. And it was an absolute joy to see the many friends we've made in the area from years past of touring through. We're very thankful to Dana and the crew at 3Js for making it such a cool venue and for that amazing roast-beef-potatoes-layered-dessert hospitality. And thanks Diane for always finding us an empty house to live in. Bill us for any repairs. (haha?)
So the question is... "what next?" Well, we don't know, is the short answer. There are a lot of possibilities: the rest of us continue playing together, we become a band that tours only Norway and Israel, each of us releases a solo album.... In all seriousness, (I'll speak only for myself here) I'm keeping the slate clean from any major decisions, mainly because I don't sense the Lord leading me to any. The only thing I've determined to do musically is to focus on learning more Irish tunes on me Irish flute, perhaps go to more pub sessions (where the sharing of Irish tunes is best done), picking up my guitar some more, and I'll always contribute to JPUSA church worship as long as I'm welcome. As this year was quite busy with Seeds touring, I'm also looking forward to just being Mom and Wife. I think my son and husband are too.
Thanks for reading. We appreciate any prayers for us, and the Troxels too. One thing for sure: God is good. Thank the Lord, that never changes. Oh, I have posted some new things in the Fan Reviews spot on our site (located in Press). Check them out.
Blessings!
colleen
12.01.2005...hello, here are some things I wrote in and around our time in israel... I'm a little slow in posting them...
...here we are on the beaches of the sea of galilee... I'm reading about the bread of life and his feeding of the 5000+ and then he went up into the hills behind me to be alone, and his disciples got tired of waiting and took the boat out and headed for Capernaum, which is 10 min by car around the north bend of the lake, I drove by there yesterday... and a storm swept down out of nowhere and surprised them... and there he was, walking on the water... It's very clear to me that Yeshua (Jesus) was real. Being here solidifies that. Real lake, real dirt, real fish, real bread, real waves, real storm, real places, real son of God come to save us from our sins. Real love.
...the first nite, we came in late. It rained. Puddles in our tent. Hiding in the men's showers with the kids, safe from the storm... lots of confusion, but we did good on the fleshy side... We flowed! Then after the rain, full moon-ish nite, laying on my back in the tent door, lookin up, seeing the stars, moon through the eucalyptus trees swinging in the breeze, scenting the air with lemon flavored soft eucalyptus, oh can it get better?
...sleeping in a small tent with 3 little children... someone's snoring and I thank God, it's like white noise over the people yelling in a language I do not understand. The israelis can be very loud... I keep thinking about them walking through the wilderness, it must have been quite a sight... I like them tho, they are very alive! The festival is starting today and there's a lot of chanting going on around the campsites already at 6am, the artwork and decorations here are just amazing... the entry into the festival is a huge 3 storey high teepee made out of string and big logs... Very cool!
...this is our last day in israel. Last nite friends came over and we talked and thanked God for this wonderful time he gave us together. I have been so encouraged in my walk following y'shua, following his teachings on loving one another, being kind, patient - and when I fail and get angry - to talk to those I offend and apologize for my shortcomings and receive reconciliation. We must not let the enemy get a foothold in our souls. Our fight is not against flesh and blood, against people and their schemes, but against spiritual forces. People will know by our love that we are followers of y'shua - the son of God, sent to save us from our fallen nature, filling us with the spirit of God, the holy spirit, so that we would all be one, all that worship him as the messiah, the chosen one who has come to liberate us from this fallen mess. Just as my brother scott's song spirit ends: follow him. And he said to them: follow me, and the fishermen from kinneret left all behind and followed him...
...and so Mike and I are challenged by their trust and faith in him, as we sense His spirit leading us on to the cold coast of Norway where no palm trees grow... we sense him leading us through the gates of 'I go before you' and "I give you the strength' and the door sill of 'leave it all behind and see I birth something new'... and so ends our present involvement with our brothers and sister in seeds, and our lives at jesus people in chicago... Huge! I have lived at jpusa for over ten years. It's been my life. And I would not be against living there for another ten!!! The community has been our family, and have loved us and helped us grow in humanity and walk with the Lord. I think for me it's the first place I ever felt like I belonged... we are not sure of what we are to do in Norway, but do feel the Lord leading us there... we would love to have your prayers if you feel so inclined... You can send us your email or adr to ktroxel@jpusa.org and we'll add you to our prayer-team and give you updates on what's going on... -kristin
11.28.2005Greetings all, hope everyone's Thanksgiving was full of thanks. My family's was good, if not uneventful. We broke down on the way home from Omaha, and sadly had a death in the family after a long illness. But even in those things we saw the Lord's mercy and provision. Baruch ha Shem ("bless the Name" in Hebrew).
Right now the Troxels are in Colorado visiting family before their move to Norway. The rest of us will meet them out there for our final show at 3Js in Johnstown, and we're really looking forward to it. We've heard of so many people travelling out to be there. It makes us feel very honored.
It's been a while, but I wanted to say that our weekend in Michigan (Nov. 11-13) was awesome. Thanks to everyone in Marshall, Grand Rapids, Paw Paw and Sawyer for making it extremely memorable and special for us. We've really developed some wonderful friendships over the years.
Last week, on Tuesday night, we had a special time of music and storytelling for our friends and family at JPUSA. We got to share a lot of stories from Israel, and some of us in the band didn't even know some of each others' stories! It helped us remember, yes there were miracles. And as one of the community members just emailed around...
"As we go into the holidays, join me in making a list of the things we HAVE. Look around and pay attention to the little things, the 'hidden' life of our community. People praying at work, an apology made for a slight, whole-hearted welcome of the widows and orphans in our own home.... There is so much humor and love and MIRACLE going on all the time that we become immune to it. Those who missed the Messiah were looking in the wrong place, expecting someone different. As we go into Advent preparing our hearts for the Messiah, look for Him here, in our own home."
That's a great challenge for all of us! Oh, if you haven't seen it yet, there is a video of one of our songs, Luvyurnaybor - live in Jerusalem, up on the Grrr site. It's all footage from Israel that Nate Cameron put together for us. Check it out!
Blessings,
colleen
11.09.2005Howdi, Colleen here. We've been back now for a week now, jetlag wearing off and "normal" life resuming. I slept more in the first few days back home than the week before that (well maybe not quite). Our homebound flight out of Tel Aviv left at 5:30am, and with international flights you have to be there 3 hours early (those 3 hours are for them to pour out your neatly packed luggage), so I had about an hour of sleep that night, maybe one hour of combined naps on the plane, then 27 hours of layover in Milan. The airline promised to provide us with hotel rooms, since they cancelled the Milan to Chicago flight, but refused to when we got there. So some of the group spent the night on the cold marble floors protecting our luggage (the airline also would not let us check our luggage all the way through Chicago), while some of us were shuffled around to a few homes of church folks there. If it weren't for them, some of us would have had to be committed!!! The Troxels and I stayed in the apartment of a very gracious, generous man named Attilio, who slept in a motor home while we slept in his place. He spoke no English, and we spoke no Italian, but we managed with gestures, and used the computer to translate a few sentences. He had been a motorcycle racer in his younger days, and that was evident wherever he drove us. We got the Italian driving experience for sure.
Anyway, the time in Israel was absolutely amazing. A wonderful combination of ministry, music, meeting Great People, eating Hummos, learning Hebrew, siteseeing, beach-combing and market shopping :-) My favorite place I think was the town of Joffa (pronounced "yahfo" by Israelis, spelled Joppa in the Bible). It was my favorite for its look and feel. It's built all around a hill, all of stone, with 2-storey dwellings all around that you get to by walking through corridors and up & down steps. It definitely transported you back in time! It was where Jonah boarded the boat when fleeing from God, and also where Peter received the vision from the Lord about the Gentiles. In fact, there's a specific door to a dwelling with a sign that says that's where it happened. It's not even "touristy", but of course who really knows if it was in that exact spot. Many sites in Israel are like that. Someone put it like this: there are A, B and C sites. A - it definitely happened right in that spot. B - might have. C - definite tourist trap.
Jerusalem was wonderful for it's cultural mishmosh and Biblical significance. Our tour guide/friend Noam, with his wife Joan, told us all about it with Bible in hand (and head and heart) and was extremely knowledgable about both Scripture and history. What's amazing is standing there on the Mt of Olives, looking at the old city, that's where Abraham went up the hill to sacrifice Isaac, as well as where Jesus was crucified and entombed, and a million other happenings. I had no idea how much had happened right there. We were actually there during part of the huge celebration for the Feast of Tabernacles, so when we got to the Western ("wailing") Wall in the evening, there were thousands of Orthodox Jews, all in their villages' version of black garb with large fur hats and curled sideburns, and everyone from tiny toddlers to old people were rocking back and forth as they read scriptures. Though there were thousands of people all in that small area, it was actually quite silent and reverent.
We refrained from mentioning to most family and friends during the trip that from where we stayed the whole time (in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv), we often heard and felt the rumblings of gunfire and bombs that were being exchanged in the West Bank in the middle of the night. The first time we heard it, we naively said "oh, fireworks!" and our Israeli friends, I think, bit their tongues. We were only a mile or two from the West Bank, but you don't sense that the violence there affects most of daily life in most of Israel, with the exception that vehicles are searched on the way to grocery stores, and people are searched before entering. On our first morning there, our host, a wonderful pastor, seemed to think it was funny when we were entering the grocery store to say about me, "she's probably got a bomb in her backpack - there's probably two in there". My mouth dropped open and I made a "tsk" sound and he laughed. We told him later that in the States you would get arrested for that, and he said there it's no big deal.
Most of us, including myself, were wowed by our experience at the Sea of Galilee (also called Lake Kinneret, which means "lyre" because the lake is in the shape of an ancient harp. It's freshwater, not salt. Who knew?!). I was instantly struck by it's size - it's not this huge sea I had always imagined. It's relatively small (32 mile circumference - just looked it up) so I instantly understood why when the Bible talks about the crowd following Jesus when he would escape the crowd in a boat, why they could go where he went - because they could see where he was going. Small revelation, but it's little things like this that we experienced almost every day by being there. On our first morning there, one of the Seeds bros said, "I tried to go for a swim this morning, but I couldn't sink." It took me a few seconds to get it. Ha ha.
Beresheet Festival, which was the reason we were on the shores of Galilee, and the main reason we went to Israel in the first place, was quite an amazing experience for all of us. On one hand, it really felt like home in it's similarity to Cornerstone Festival - setting up booths and large tents in the hot sun, living in leaky tents in the rain, chopping vegetables for the common dinner (there was free vegetarian dinner each night for anyone who would come - many good conversations about the Lord took place there), comraderie with other believers.... But obviously, the religious nature of this fest was completely different to us. The openness of the kids (and adults) to all the other eastern religions is the very openness that they had toward us, and to talking about spiritual things, and to dancing en masse at our mainstage show though we were singing clearly about Jesus. That was very refreshing and different from the states. For many of the kids there, that was their last party before entering military service.
We weren't the only Christian band that performed at Beresheet - the Newsboys also played. I confess I've never been a huge fan, and though they'd been at Cornerstone before, I'd never seen them. But I was impressed at Beresheet - the lead singer laid out the Gospel in no uncertain terms and spoke specifically to the crowd (not a canned speech). During the show, I heard the most profound thing of my whole trip. It came from a man who is not a believer (Christian), but he came to me and said "the lead singer is like a preacher, and he is reminding Israel of her own God!" So true. I heard that they paid their own way to Israel.
Well, I'm going to post this in installments, I guess. I want to get this up, but there's a lot more to write about. We're so grateful to all of you who prayed for us (we lived in the answers!), encouraged us, and contributed moolah to this trip. And thanks to those of you in Israel who were hospitable toward us and loved us and treated us like your family and like kings and queens. You guys made the whole trip a gem. Juventus and Daniella, Noam and Joan, Karin, Kalev and Sheli, Variya and Anna, Hannah, Jack and Ruth, Michael and family, Gina, Laura and the kosher pizza group, and I'm missing a bunch. But we love you guys.
Colleen
11.08.2005Borre here - the guy who has played keyboards for Seeds every now and then over the last 2 1/2 years. I used to live with Jesus People USA in Chicago, but this summer my wife, two kids and myself moved back to Norway. What a blessing it was when things went from joking around about going to Israel to actually buying airline tickets (not Alitalia). Seeds invited me to join them on their Asia/Europe tour. I packed my gear, some underwear and a few hours later two guys picked me up at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv. They took me to their church where Seeds was doing a show. They looked at me, I looked at them, they said something about a piano, I sat down. "Key of A? Key of F sharp? Key of E? No, key of C sharp! For real!" It really was the key of C sharp, but the moment was totally unreal. I was in Israel!!
Some hugs, a good night's sleep later we were on our way to Beresheet. Lots of things have been written about the fest, and for me it exceeded every expectation I had. The people we met, the shows we did, the people who danced, the food we ate, the people who gave us tents, the sea of Gallilea, the people wh showed us love...
Scott (aka Mordechai) was coming down with a mild, but contagious Jerusalemfreakism. Together we begged Sheli and Calev to give us Hebrew names. They named me Baruch, which means Blessed! I loved it - at first because... it sounded cool. But after a while I realized they had given me a name that so much defined this trip for me. I was blessed.
Blessed to be in the Holy Land. Blessed to be with my friends from Chicago (AND Detroit). Blessed to have met so many wonderful people in Israel. Blessed to be on Yeshua's team. Blessed to have a wife and two wonderful kids waiting for me at home. Blessed to be loved by the man who walked on water, who erased every mistake I'll ever do and who made sure I have a future with his Dad (his Abba).
I could go on. I won't, though. God is good, and God is real. He was, but He sure IS.
:)---- Baruch
PS. I guess I should share about our experiences at the Dead Sea. But here, in Norway, it's past midnight, and that is passed my bed time. My turn to get up with the kids in the morning...
PS2. Uncle James, I love your socks 'cause they're kind of always with you - even when they're not.
11.04.2005
What memories! these pix were sent from a guy from the festival named Elad Rabinovich. Thank you so much Elad
11.02.2005
Well, after I (mike) pushed hard to get a bloggable page for SEEDS updates in Israel I have surprisingly enough not written one post this whole trip... life was very full and unspeakably amazing! i am still digesting it all... God was, and is, so present! our stories will begin to spill out in the days to come... I have wrestled over which ones to share in a public forum, cuz I built some very real relationships with people, many of them non- believers, and we had deep discussions about life, the world and Jesus (Yeshua).
I realised fast that my mission was not to go and convert, but to just love people. and real love loves with no hidden agendas. I am not talking about some "stealth-evangelism", but entering into peoples lives for real, and letting them into mine. Of course Jesus permiates my life and my conversation... my hope therefor is that the Spirit of God will ignite a desire in people to find the true light of Yeshua and come to know him as their messiah, but they will be my friends what ever the outcome. So keep looking, and I will share some amazing doors the Lord opened for me to share his truth to my friends, ways that He used my children, my wife and my very best friends(seeds)to impact a whole lot of people to consider the possiblity of Yeshua being the jewish messiah... It was truly a very blessed God ordained trip. All glory to the Father... Mike
PS:I will never fly Alitalia airlines again. That's all I will say about that.
Well we are all home after spending the night on the airport floor of milan, italy where my great grandmother juliano came from to america...well not exactly milan but ITALY. Are time in milan was not the greatest due to the fact that they (Aitalia Airlines) didn't follow their promise to give us rooms for a day layover because of a canceled flight. So with thirteen of us including 3 youngins, we had quite an adventure staying calm and loving knowing that the enemy(lucifer) was trying to rob the joy and beauty of what happened in Israel. We (seeds) weeks before this trip covered everything of Israel in prayer but we just didn't bathe milan! We are home and we want to say thanks again and again to those (Danny and his incredibly cool family..........."no touchy, no touch") for driving us back n' forth and serving us the greatest lasagna i have ever have, seriously mom and aunt cathy! To all of those in Israel that have emailed me please continue to stay in contact and thanks for giving us all the time of our lives!
10.31.2005
Shalom from Brother Red Squirrel (a.k.a Mordechai or Scott Knies)!
I haven't been the best about writing but since Tom and Chris from the band have been so thorough i can just say that in our last 12 hours of our stay to fly to Milan,Italy I am so beyond happy about staying and experiencing Israel. I have been honored to play with the Israeli soccer team and jam with some amazing musicians at the congregations here in Kfar Seba. I have walked in some of the areas our L-RD CHRIST walked and really felt HIS spirit at the Sea of Gailee and the River Jordan. The young people I have met on this tour I will never forget and I just wanted to say Toda Raba to Roi, Dan, Bubble Girl, Meitar and her crew and anyone that I might have forgotten who through us have been so real with us. Also Indie and the EarthHeart crew for letting us play at their stage the last night of Beeresheet which was the most memorable for me. Thanks for the ganja German friend but we don't smoke.....the L-RD Yeshua is our high. Really outside of Yeshua my own waking up and living is a high because of this thing I call HYPERACTIVITY!!!!! I just wanted to let my mum, pops, sister Sheli, Neice Avelina and Aunt Cathy and her sixth grade class that everyone is fine and we are so happy to be coming home. Also thanks for everyone at J-SUS PEOPLE U.S.A who have fasted and prayed and kept up on our blogs. We are all doing great and have experienced a once in a lifetime living and playing experience and in the words of the hebrew nation SerBaba (cool)
Bavakasha and Blessings in Yeshua ha Meshiek
Mordechai
10.29.2005
The sun is setting in Israel and SEEDS is about to fly to Italy. During our 17 days in Israel, SEEDS had 13 shows (not counting our travel days). Please pray for our night of outreach in Milan, Italy Tuesday night. Thanks!
Nate is officially out of the hospital! Nate, James, and I said good-bye to the nurse that called him a hostage and we watched Nate once again enjoy the Israeli air, scenery (from a high mountain outside the hospital we gazed at the entire Sea of Galilee), and then Nate looked for the nearest food after going without food for five days and then a few days of hospital food. James and I helped Nate experience some real Israeli food at...
McDonalds (yes I'm ashamed).
In Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, and Haifa SEEDS enjoyed playing to many believers and many unbelievers as well. We keep telling the Christians here how welcomed we feel and they keep telling us how much we are encouraging them. Many believers brought friends and neighbors that do not yet know JESUS. We've had numerous conversations about JESUS and community life (i.e. JPUSA) with people searching for truth and life.
Thanks again for your prayers!
TC
PS Congradulations to the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago WHITE SOX and their fans!!!
10.25.2005
Nate ate food Tuesday for the first time in a week! He sounds much better and continues to have many visitors. Thanks again for your prayers for him! We hope he will be released soon.
Within the past few days, we've been blessed to be able to walk around Jerusalem and swim in the Dead Sea. We have heard from the believers here that there is only around 4,000 Christians in Israel (pop. 7 million). We have felt so loved and welcomed here. So many families have invited us for dinner that we've had to turn down invitations. Please pray for our remaining outreaches:
Weds. - Jerusalem (King of Kings)
Thur. - Tel-Aviv (www.raisethepraise.tv)
Sat. - Haifa (details in earlier blog)
TC
"O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will free Israel from every kind of sin" (Psalm 130:7-8).
10.22.2005O.k., so here we are back at the compound, after being at the beresheet festival for 5 days, which 3 of those days were actually the festival, the other 2 we were helping set up. We were glad to be able to sleep in beds last night, after tenting it for 5 days, and not sleeping well, I was able to sleep until 1:00 p.m. today. Beresheet really was a blessing for us, not only was it a great experience to play on a main stage, but we met so many wonderful people, believers and unbelievers. We got to share our testimonies and get to know people. The people there were very accepting of us, and because classic rock is so big here in Israel, the really dug our music as well. We played 7 times during the three days there, playing on all of the stages. We were with a group of around 150 other Christians there, they were running a chai shop, and also had a stage. We hung out there quit a bit getting to know many of the people, and playing there which attracted many people. It was very cool getting to know people over a three day period. We survived on only pita and hummus mainly, and sometimes had nutella and pita. I am hommused out! We got to swim in the see of Galilee which was beautiful and clear. Our show on the main stage went very well for us, we had a big crowd, and afterwards hung out with several people, talking with them for a while. I think the one show there that really hit all of us was on Wednesday night, we were asked to play, and kristens voice was not doing well so we decided to play some acoustic and low key stuff. Well, needless to say, that didn't happen, after playing all of our songs in the extended dance remix versions, and breaking out a few in our more eclectic hip hop and reggae versions, we then decided to play some sweet home Alabama and some blues. That was a wonderful night for us, it was a very intimate night, being able to share stories with the audience, and not feeling any pressure. We then sat around and hung out with many of them talking and sharing about our lives. I was able to go one night and join a drum circle, which happened to be a long night. When I got there, there wasn't many people, but after about an hour, tons of people started filling in bringing drums of all types, and shafars. We went on until late in the morning, I also got to talk to some of the guys, it became interesting because after a few hours they started throwing fire and worshipping it and dancing around it. I stayed around to see what they were doing, they kept on for a good time, screaming and singing to it, after that was over I talked to a few of the guys, they told me that they believed that the fire, and the water was the way to god. I told them that I knew yeshua was the way, they looked at me as if I were crazy, but we ended up talking for a while and sharing some stories.
At another one of our shows on the last night we played at a stage were everyone seemed a little rowdy and liked to smoke a lot of weed. After playing for 45 minutes, a guy came up and offered to smoke a joint with us, we all refused, he looked at us like we were nuts, we kept on playing. After the show was over they came over and talked to us, we took that as a compliment, because if somebody offers to smoke their marijuana with you, that means they like you. We told them that we were believers of yeshua and that we do not smoke, but I don't think they understood, they kept saying "I know you don't want to smoke because of the police" We hung out some more talking to many of them, I had a chance to talk with a gypsy, who really like the music, he said he knew of yeshua but wasn't sure about him, I shared my testimony with him, and gave him a shirt. I really feel blessed to be on this trip, all of the relationships being built is truly amazing, I feel that our love and closeness toward each other in the band is really spreading to other people, and serving as a witness to Christ. I to have also learned a lot culturally and have grown closer to the lord. Often time during the last week I have been very wore out and at one point my ankle was very badly hurting, but the lord always manages to come through and heel me, and give me strength.
We are really missing our brother Nathan, his is doing well, but we can't wait to get him back on the crew. Please continue to pray for him and his speedy recovery. Also thanks for all of the prayers, they are working!
Just one last thing, as we were coming home from the fest we stopped at a gas station and ran into some Israeli soldiers. They let us get pictures with them, they also let me take a picture with one of their m16's. check em out
thanks everyone, stay tuned
ERIKA I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND MISS YOU, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL SMILE, I'LL BE HOME SOON, LOVE YA!!!!!
10.21.2005
Thank you for your continued prayers! We will miss the Sea of Galilee. What God did at the Beresheet Festival was amazing!! We all have many testimonies that we will share with you shortly. Around 100 believers came to share the Good News and to be a light in a dark place and SEEDS had the pleasure of being involved.
We played seven times in three days on three different stages. We camped in the rain with very little sleep. A few of us were sick at times but the worst was Nathan, our camaraman, who was hospitalized on Weds. with much pain. He had successful surgery today to remove gall stones. Thank you JESUS!!!
Please pray for his recovery and that he will be released from the hospital soon. We miss you Nathan! Who would want to be in Israel for the first time and stuck in a hospital? Thankfully, several of us have been able to visit with him everyday and believers here have been amazing examples to us. Believers from Tiberias, Kfar Saba, Poryria (sp?), etc. have been visiting Nathan as well. Besides praying with and for Nathan, they have had worship times at the hospital and used this event to go witnessing in the hospital - WOW!
Sat. will be our tenth (yep - that's 10th) show in less than ten days. In the AM, we will load music gear onto a rooftop for an outreach in Kfar Saba tomorrow. More good news, our keyboardist Borre from Norway has changed his plane ticket to stay with us for another three days. Thank you Vibeke!!!
TC
10.17.2005"Hey guys, WE ARE IN ISRAEL!!!"
10.16.2005Today we're off to www.beresheet.co.il where SEEDS will be Tues. at the main stage at 8 PM and every day of the festival SEEDS will be performing at the All Nations Chai Shop.
This coming Sat. 10/22 in Kfar Saba roof top concert at 7:30 PM.
King of Kings assembly in Jerusalem, Weds. 10/26, show time is 7 PM!
Thurs. Tel Aviv 10/27 at Beit Esther go to www.raisethepraise.tv
Also SEEDS has a new show Sat. Oct. 29 in Haifa at the Beit Eliyahu congregation at 7 PM!
A lady shared this Scripture at church this morning, Psalm 126:6 says, "He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him."
JESUS also spoke to me through this Scripture today from 1 Samuel 12:16, "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!"
THANK you for your continued prayers for SEEDS!
Tom and the "I can't sleep" gang
10.15.2005As a kid, my friends and I would often play a crazy game called "Mercy" in which you begin gently holding hands. Within a few seconds the game takes a painful turn for one person who needs to cry out "Uncle, Uncle" for the victor to stop. Otherwise the pain could be so intense, to the point of multiple broken fingers.
SEEDS is grateful to have our beloved "Uncle" James (UJ) with us once again, this time in Israel. His nickname has been used several times already during this trip, and how can I say this politely, whenever UJ takes a conversation into an area of "shakey ground" or if UJ talks for several minutes without a breath (notice his LONG introduction post); we cry "Uncle, Uncle".
Anyone have any stories to support this definiton of "Uncle"?
Tom
Greetings everyone from Tel Aviv!
I guess I should introduce myself. I am the infamous "Uncle James" AKA The Soundguy.
I obtained the nickname "Uncle James" from Seeds when I was touring with them way back in 2001. I like to think that they gave me the name "Uncle James" as a sign of respect and honor. That they look to my guidance and one would look to a wise uncle for advice. However, I think the band had other reasons for giving me my nickname. I will leave it to them to explain that though... :)
For my first post here I was asked to explain why I got yelled at for touching a light in the Plane during our flight from Chicago to Milan. Following is the story, which I like to refer to as "The Incident."
"The Incident"
Okay, in the 767 we are flying in there are three rows of seats in the following configuration. 2 3 2 or XX XXX XX. This means that only 1 person out of 7 does not have either a Window or Aisle seat.
So I have an aisle seat in the center row. Nate (The Video Guy) had the opposite Aisle Seat. That left Colleen With the Unfortunate position of the dreaded center seat.
Anyway, her reading light was oddly focused on my seat. She was having a very hard time reading in the darkened plane. At one point she stood up to go to the back of the plane.
I stood up to stretch, and simply reached up to adjust her light for her. No big deal. These were not the easily adjustable lights you find in most planes, but were adjustable nonetheless. So I simply reached in the light socked and pushed the Bulb over into the correct position. The whole process took less than 2 seconds, literally. Perfect!
Immediately this woman 2 rows back YELLS, "Do not touch anything on the plane!"
I looked at her and attempt to explain that I was simply refocusing the bulb on the correct seat.
She then jumps up and quickly moves past some people to the back of the plane. I start talking over the seat to another band member, who is also confused as to what her issue was.
A couple moments later the woman emerges from the back with a confused pilot who had obviously been resting. He approaches me and asks me if I am having a problem.
I explain that I was simply adjusting the light and asked if I was not allowed to do that. He says in an Italian accent, "No, NO problem."
The women then starts protesting that I should not have been touching anything.
One of the band members (chris) asked the pilot what the problem was, stating that we were confused.
The pilot then states in a tone of voice that implied that he had to say something just to please this woman, "Well, normally we do not need to touch things like this in the plane, but this is no problem."
The Pilot then proceeds to return to the back of the plane, looking somewhat bewildered.
The women looks at him and states snobbily, "Well, no one is allowed to touch OUR planes."
The whole rest of the flight this woman gave me bad looks and what not.
End of the Incident, perhaps you had to be there to understand how funny and weird this situation was. Weird stuff.
So thats it! I would like to thank everyone for thier prayers. More funny stories and real life adventures to follow!
~ Uncle James (sound guy)
Hello Seeds fans, friends, and family. I'm Nate. I'm the video guy. I'm the one documenting this monumentous excursion on mimi-dv for future generations. This has been an amazing journey for all of us. God has done a lot to confirm for me that I should be here even though I've never done anything like this(at least at this scale). I can't wait to start puting some footage up on the internet. Today we went to a church in Kafar Sava. It was amazing to see the love that the people there showed to us. It was also amazing to see what an answer to prayer Seeds is to the church here in Israel. Some of the members have been praying for years to have a y'shua band come to Israel and play. God is so good to us in providing for us even in the little things. After church we went to the Medditerranian Sea and went swimming. It was amazing watching the sun set over the sea. I am so sorry to those of you out there who will only get to experience this trip through the jumpy digital images I will humbly provide. They will not do it justice. Thank you for all your prayers. They are definately fealt. Goodnight all.
Nathan Cameron
So, on a funnier note, friday night james (soundguy) decided to perform spontaneous surgery on scott. Apparently, scott had been working with a hammer (not a tool of his choice) and hit something that made a piece of metal fly back and hit him right below the eye. So, instead of scott having a brilliant idea to go take care of it while in america, he patiently waited until we were in the middle of nowhere, which was in the middle of nowhere, which happened to be in Israel. Scott asked james to take it out, james graciously accepted the offer, broke out his latex gloves, a knife, and some bandaids and went to town. What a night of entertainment for the crew. We so gladly sat back and watched as james ( a soon to be paramedic) dug an exacto knife into scott's face. how cool that was to watch, i felt so much more closer to james, being that i had just met him three days prior. Well, at last james confidentally succeded, and bam!, the piece of metal is out. Here are some pics. Also some pics of me, scott, and james striking our zoolander pose in the back of an israel maxi-van, which seats about 12 people in a space the size of a vw beatle.
thanks, and keep us in your prayers, the lord has and is opening so many doors for us, we are so blessed to be a part of such a great family. Continue to look out for more blogs, from other people, about other subjects.
peace,
chris
So after a short evening of rest, (due to jetlag, and sleeping through friday) i awoke on saturday ready to head over to a church service that we were invited to. (i am not good with directions or names of places here yet, so please forgive me) We walked in to a room full of loud praise, dancing and a lot of hebrew language. At first it felt as if i was walking in slow motion, everyone was gazing upon us, i wasn't sure if it was because we were late, seeds, or just plain old Americans. I'm share the latter had something to do with it. I was instantly given a headphone, which I could put on to hear translation of the service. I put it on, but fell into deep praise, not understanding the language, but feeling the love, and togetherness of the congregation. I started to get goosebumps, ladies were dancing ever so elegantly and gracious with flags and streamers, the worship team, with eyes closed, swaying back and forth playing their instruments. I finally had my first reality check since being on this trip. Looking around, knowing that these are my brothers and sisters in the lord, and knowing how much we are the same, regardless of communication barriers. They were so excited to know the lord, so full of energy, and never once did they stop. That is how I want to be, full of the lord! As I look around I am so blessed to be called here, so blessed to walk through peoples lives, around the world, to meet people, to build relationships, to share a common love, and life. What a witness these people are to me, they were so embracing and so full of love. We then played a few of our songs, mike and Scott shared with everyone, then we prayed. What a great time of prayer, so many different languages, so full of joy and happiness. We then hung around and talked with some folks for a while, had a good time humoring and being humored with and by some Israelis, and with some folks from Africa. We hen set sail to go back to the (compound) house where we are staying, to eat, and relax. Some people went to the Mediterranean sea to swim and some people stayed back. We have a show tonight, and borre (that Norwegian keyboard guy) is coming tonight to join us. What a great time this will be, what a time to learn and grow closer to the lord, to meet people, to truly be servants, and to walk were Jesus himself has walked. WOW how awesome.
Stay tuned for some great stories, some sound bites, and video updates on our website.
Peace from Israel,
Chris (drummer)
10.14.2005Here is a little taste of Tom's journal...
saying goodbye to love ones is tough!
Uncle James got yelled at for touching a plane light...
not much English spoken in Milan...
10 hours in an airport feels like three days...
fried shrimp at McDonalds?
why do we have to take a bus to our plane?
Colleen turned the lights out in the plane...
"WE ARE IN ISRAEL!"
Lene's luggage is lost AGAIN?
why is there a baseball field outside our door in Israel?
"WE ARE DRIVING IN ISRAEL!"
wake up Scott, the Israelis want to play soccer with us!
Henry Nouwen's and Tom Cameron's challenge is to...
LOVE and SERVE each other!
Thanks for your prayers and support! Tom
Check out http://www.raisethepraise.tv/artists/seeds.htm
PS Coming soon..."sound" bites from Nate, Chris, and Uncle James?
10.09.2005Hello! We're on the verge of departing for great adventures in the land of Israel. Wednesday is the day, and none of us have any idea what to expect, except that God will show up. And He already is. We know that many of you are praying for us. The Lord has shown up in our prayer times together, our rehearsals, conversations with others and among ourselves, personal prayer times and this morning in church. We led worship for our community and did some of our songs, and then some of our pastors prayed for us and our families. We're so blessed to be sent out by such a great body of believers.
In addition to shows in Israel, it looks like we may have a show in Milan, Italy! Our airline has postponed our return flight, giving us a one-day layover in Milan. And it turns out we have friends of friends there who have wanted us to come play - cool, huh?! So we're still working on the details, and it's one more thing we'd love for you to add to your prayer list.
Have I mentioned yet that we're travelling with thirteen people? and meeting one more from Norway? In addition to the band, we have the Troxel's three kids, two kid helpers, a sound guy, a cameraman, and the keyboardist (Borre, of Norway). So we'll be huge!
Thanks in advance for your continued prayers. We'll post to our site whenever can, so keep watching!
Bless ya all,
colleen
p.s. we've added some Michigan shows in November - check out the shows page.
We are off to Israel this Wed.!!!
Our Heavenly Father has been doing some deep work in us to prepare us for this amazing path. Please continue to join us in prayer!
Pray that we are a brilliant light for the Father. And that we are filled with His wisdom, fitted with all the spiritual armor we will need, and that through it all - the Father bears His fruit through us and brings forth a harvest!
THANKS!!!
9.05.2005Hello! We've been home from tour a few weeks, settled in now and ready to send the precious wee ones off to their first day of school tomorrow. We were "on the road again" since early July, coming right off of Cornerstone festival, where we not only play, but work also. The Lord blessed every show and each place was special for its wonderful kindred spirits, divine appointments, satiating fellowship, and just plain fun. Here's just a few memories:
WEST TOUR
Cool Jazz Lab, enjoyable openers, in Tahlequah OK
Pre-show water park in the midst of humid high 90s in McPherson KS
Nice morning service in Ft. Collins CO with old friends and future ones
(and great house with trampoline and raspberries for the week)
Beautiful scenes in mountainous Dillon CO
Mountain creek baptism and hummos picnic
Uncle Chuck's church with hearty Israel prayers
Rocky mountain pass drive with posing marmots and chaser elk
Nature's icebox lodge in Fraser CO - close to the stars
Livingroom jams and no-rain park in cloud-darkened Granby CO
Family and friends at grassy Covenant jungle in Ft. Collins CO
** Uh oh, our van breaks down. We're stuck for an entire extra week, suffering in the mountain beauty (for the Lord). Okay, we'll get to know some of you better. It's the hottest week in the Denver area for thirty years: 105 degrees. But it's a dry heat. Let's go for a hike. **
Miraculous meetings in North Platte NE
Gone fishin' vid sermon and dark worship at Vineyard F.C.
EAST TOUR
City hall lawn, blown transformer in Dowagiak MI
Scott's gaggle of adoring rellies and some Canadians in Columbus OH
(DTN - drive through the night. No open gas stations on the PA Turnpike?!)
Lebanon PA greasy spoon, theater church, old friends and a few days' rest, yo
Both corn and people are sweet in Waynesboro PA
(DTN to NH) At Soul Fest for the week
We're extremely thankful to those who came to shows, promoted shows, and especially those who showed us their godly hospitality. (Some were adventurous enough to have all twelve of us in their home.) And a really special thanks goes out to Mr. O in Ft. Collins for graciously loaning us the SUV to pull our trailer to the last out-west show (five hours away) and back.
We played many outdoor shows this past month - more than any other tour. In the beginning, we had the tendency to wince at the thought of outdoor shows.... in the south..... in July. But after a couple of them, hot as they were, we realized what a blessing it is to play in a neutral surrounding where folks wouldn't have to enter a church to hear us. The flesh is weak, but the Spirit is willing!
We had a good week at Soul Fest in New Hampshire after ironing out a few wrinkles. Not only was the scenery beautiful, but we really enjoyed hanging out at our booth and around the grounds talking to folks. We had never been to any other festival for its entire length before, aside from Cornerstone where we're distracted by duties, so to just be a presence at the fest was a blessing for us. A couple of evenings we dragged most of our instruments out of the trailer and hosted a spontaneous drum circle worship time. We were glad to offer folks an opportunity to actively participate in worship, and not just be performed to (which of course has its merits). And the last evening Mike had everyone (30-40?) break up into groups of two or three and just pray and talk together. We heard some wonderful feedback from that, and were all blessed ourselves through the conversations that we had.
Our Soul Fest show, nearly the last show on the last day of the fest, was at the moutaintop stage, which was literally.... on the mountain top. We loaded our instruments up on the ski lift chairs, about a 15 minute ride into dragonfly heaven, to the stage, which was actually a cute cabin. The show was moderately attended and we felt that we performed well, but one of the biggest blessings was speaking with a family who had recently lost their son. He had stayed with us at Jesus People a couple years ago and they came to our show specifically to experience some healing and closure. They didn't know that Tom, our bass man, was his host at JPUSA the week he was there and they spoke with Tom a while. We pray that they continue to find healing and comfort.
Through all our travels, we find that, in fact, God is faithful. (Why do we need so much reminding?) At every turn, despite ourselves, he turns rocks to diamonds and mud to healing balm.
We continue to look forward and count the days until Israel. We are booked on an October 12th flight, and until then we are fasting and praying one day a week. Most weeks that will probably be Wednesdays and we would appreciate all your prayers also. If you feel so led you can join us in the fasting - up to you.
Also check out our other couple of tour dates and come join us. They'll be special!
Beannachtai,
colleen, for the band
3.10.2005Wow what amazing plans the Lord does have. As some of you know we have been invited to play at a very large secular "hippie" festival in Israel called Beresheet festival! It's actually quite amazing. While our friend, Scott Colson, was traveling last year he felt the Lord wanted Seeds to come and minister in Israel. He had been to some large festivals and had a vision that SEEDS would minister to all these people. Anyways, one door after another has opened. A pastor friend of his in Israel, who also had a desire to bring us over, was actually sought out by the promoter of Beresheet Festival. He asked him if he knew of a Believers in Yeshua band that would play at their festival. He gave them our CD and they said "yes we want this band". Wow! So it appears that we will be spending 3 weeks in the Holy land this Oct. We will be playing in both Christian and non-Christian events. Please pray with us that we would be a bright light for the sake of Christ. Also pray for safety, wisdom, and practical things like finances (lots to raise), customs (its tough to get through), and transportation (for about 12 people all together). Lots of details to work out. God is faithful.
As for US tours we are now in the process of planning two 10-day tours. One in July 8-18 which will probably take us out west or possibly southwest. And one from July 29- Aug. 8th which will end at SoulFest in New Hampshire. So we will most likely head south and then up east. Please pray that the Lord will direct us. If you, or someone you know, would be open to hosting a show with us please contact us. Again His will be done.
-Mike
1.21.2005Hey all. Colleen blabbin'. We're still here! Deeply entrenched in community life and the responsibilities therein. We've had quite a break from any touring since November and are really looking forward to getting back out. Next weekend we'll be "The Band" at a Michigan youth camp that Mike and Scott have played at for the past ten years now. It's not in our shows listing since it's a closed event, but we still covet prayers for it. We were those high-schoolers once (now we're old and talk about our trick knees), looking for answers and direction in life. So we pray that our words, actions, music, etcetera will be used by the Lord to water the dry places. Then the following Thursday we'll be at a shelter in a nearby suburb, and though we have a shelter of our own it will be an out-of-the-norm show for us. We're looking forward to that, too, with the same prayers. "You can't force these things. They only come about through my Spirit" Zechariah 4:6 (The Message Bible)
For some months now we've been praying about the possibility of going to Israel. The folks involved are very serious about raising the money and making it happen, as God wills. We're just hanging on and waiting for an answer. There's quite a young hippie subculture there apparently and we would be playing at some music festivals. Last summer, they passed out 300 Seeds compilation CDs at a festival to start tilling the soil.
On the lighter side of the news, I am no longer the only person in the group who is newly coifed (say "kwoft"). In other words, a freak flag ain't flyin' no mo'. Hair today gone tomorrow. I have the second-longest hair in Seeds. We've discovered a short-haired red squirrell. Necessity is the mother of invention, and some haircuts. Okay enough of that.
In a few weeks we'll be celebrating the marriage of one Seeds drummer to one beautiful and talented newly-ordained nurse! Chris Sheppard and Erika Szafraniec walk down the aisle on March 5th. We'll be there with bells on.
11.16.2004We're very sad to hear about the passing of our brother Nelson Whitehorse....
11.08.2004The following was supposed to go out as an email to our email list. Well, it didn't work....I'll have to iron that out.... So anyway:
Thanks from Seeds to all of you who stopped by, chatted with, listened to, fed, housed, and blessed us this past week (Oct. 28-31). We really are blessed. In Chattanooga we met the fine folks of the Vineyard church before our show in a "roundtable" question and answer session - they wanted to know more about reaching out to the homeless in their community and how our ministry (Jesus People USA) has done it in Chicago. We were really encouraged by their heart for the poor. In Paris (Tennessee, that is) we could have been plagued by sound problems the whole evening, or.... turn the thing off and sit in a circle with the folks in the audience, go acoustic and share testimonies and songs. One of the most spontaneous and odd evenings we've ever had, and one of the best. We purposefully went to Asheville, North Carolina to be a "light in a dark place" during Halloween weekend. We were a part of the Harvest Gathering outdoor fest (along with the Clark Family, Madison Greene, the Psalters and others) which was situated in downtown Asheville, between the Brewgrass Beer fest and some wiccan activities, and just in the midst of a general party atmosphere. We were there to play music, as well as to hang out, talk to passersby, give and eat a free dinner each night. As Kristin said, we weren't to go wake the sleeping giant, but to snatch the treasures from under his chair. There were many good conversations, seeds planted, and as is often the case, when you go to minister, it's often you who receives the most ministry. We believe the seeds planted will be watered by the Lord. We appreciate your prayers!
We also appreciate seeing you at shows!
Bless ya all,
Colleen, Mike, Kristin, Scott, Tom, Chris
Seeds
Election on the Brain
Okay, the election's over, and your candidate won or lost. Is our job over now? Can we relax now that we "did our part" (by the mere act of voting)? What issues did I vote by? How much effect will I have on that issue in the next four years? Can I do something to help? Should I vote out of fear? Should I vote? Does God have a candidate? or a party? Is God's will performed through the government? Which "religious" issues did I vote by and are they religious issues in my life everyday? In any case..... Lord, have mercy.
10.27.2004We'd love your prayers today and this weekend as we take off for shows in Tennessee, and especially Asheville, NC. The Harvest Gathering (outdoor street "fest", in a nutshell) that we are a part of, is during Halloween. It's an effort by Christians like ourselves to be a light in the midst of some pagan and Wiccan events there. We will be a presence there, not shouting but feeding anyone who comes free dinners. We have really been praying about this and know that the Lord will show up. Hopefully we'll have some stories to tell when we get home. Pray for all the other bands too....
Until then....
-Colleen
10.15.2004All right, sorry it has been so long since last time of info, its because we have been gone on vacation or visited with friends and relatives, been to quite a lot of weddings and played a few shows and met some great people all over the place... the madison lutheran missions conference, the sturgeon bay time with good friends and organic farmers (loved those raspberries), marching for affordable housing in uptown chicago, saying goodbye to old friends, playing in the poker-church in muskeegon mi, going touristing at the falls in niagara with my folks, sam cutting his first tooth, matthew getting his molars (lots of no-sleep-nights for the croziers & troxels), scott having a birthday (getting a new guitar and lots of pizza), chris (our drummer) quitting caffeine...watching and having presidential debates...
NEWSFLASH... it looks like someone has given grrr records (our "mother") an rv/bus, so if everything works out; seeds (and all the other bands @ grrr) will be travellin in style in times to come... do pray that if the Lord wills, things will work out for this vehicle...
NEWSFLASH... we have a friend who is promoting seeds in israel. we might go there to play at some secular newage/hippie festivals over passover in the spring... they want us to hang out and build relationships with the kids there. they like our sound and hairdos... pray that the right doors would open or close, whatever God has in mind... we, ofcourse, would love to go and talk about jesus in his neck of the woods...
NEWSFLASH...in january/feb we are planning to go to a rainbow gathering outreach, to hang out with the hippie kids there... play music, cook some good food to give out and talk about spiritual things...
It would be great if you could pray for all these things with us, so that good things would happen and more people would get to have an encounter with jesus.
-Kristin
7.22.2004(Colleen speakin') Here we are again, with just a day between now and going out again - doesn't leave much time to tell you all the ways we've seen the Lord answer your and our prayers! But He did (and we all, like sheep, often forget what we've prayed for as we're munching on the answer to it....). We had 12 in a van with space for 15, and are getting it down to a science how to best spread out in that space - eight adults and four kids! We had safe travel, met up with wonderful old friends, made more new ones, saw family members, and saw the Lord work in different unique ways at each show. New Earth in KC: we love you!!! Sheldon and Terri, we come to see you and just happen to do a show too. The Brown fam in Tahlequah - great to see you all again! You blessed us. And thanks to our new friends in McPherson, KS! In Colorado we spent a week in the Denver area doing various shows. It was great staying with our friends the Bordens who just moved from Jesus People out there to Ft. Collins (10 adults and 9 kids in one house - whew! but it never felt crowded). We had a couple shows in Boulder fall through right before we arrived, and in a few days had new things set up - one in the beautiful mountain town of Frisco for students in a discipleship program, and one intimate backyard show for a youth group in Ft. Collins. They were both awesome. Many of us Seeds have family out there, and I got to meet up with many of my rellies, two of which, a young couple, are struggling through some extreme grief right now. I felt so blessed to see them and share some tears with them. At 3Js Coffeehouse in Johnstown we had so much fun seeing Dana our old pal and big-hearted guy, and did worship at his church the next morning. We were blessed by their receptive hearts and giving attitudes - one of our favorite times on tour. At Everyday Joe's in Ft. Collins (excellent venue! go there) we met guitarist Trace Bundy, and I got to speak with a pagan woman. I continue to pray that the Jesus will reveal Himself to her. Also to our very pleasant surprise our friends in Madison Greene came in to hang out at our show in Everyday Joe's, as they had a show the next night in the same area of town. How nice to be around great brothers and sisters! We met many homeless and transient kids in downtown Denver at Sox Place, where Doyle Robinson has been loving them and handing out new socks for 5 years now. It was his 50th birthday, and he blessed us all, kids and band alike, with grilled, delicious steaks donated by a businessman. We played and the kids stuck around - we felt honored. And in Longmont, we saw so many old friends from the community, as well as family, it was like old home week. (The Troxels win the Most Family at a Show award.) So, as I try to pack things in this nutshell, it gets later, and I still haven't mentioned half of it. But THANK YOU all for praying for us, coming to see us, supporting us. We need you to do that. Good night! More later....
7.07.2004Cornerstone festival: Oh, what a wonderful festival we had! Thank you all for coming out and partying with us at the cornerstone festival illinois - it was a lot of fun hanging out and worshipping the Lord with you at the beach, (was that a beautiful moon over the lake or what???!) and later at the gallery stage and at the Jesus village... so many doors opened up for us to play and share - God is so faithful!
Thanks for all the encouraging words regarding 'rooted', we've been very encouraged by you all!!! We are now home for a day or so, and then headed south and west to missouri, oklahoma, kansas and colorado... We are very excited to get to go on tour again. Do continue to pray for us that we would walk in the things God has prepared for us, be bold and humble, and love on each other and the people we end up meeting.. ("share the gospel at all times and if necessary use words")
5.25.2004Our first show was in Merritt Island, where we got to meet some really wonderful people, including Malcomb Wild of the Jesus Movement band Malcomb & Alwyn. (Check out their music!) The boogie boarding on Cocoa Beach didn't hurt the experience either...
Thank you everyone for all the prayers before and during our tour down to Florida and back up through Georgia and Kentucky! We had such a wonderful time walking in prepared deeds! (for real!) In the months before we went we'd been praying alot, and one of the prayers that was on my heart was for opportunities to share with people at gas stations... and at one point at a gas station, tom saw this guy with a cool steeringwheel in his truck... and started talking to him, and it turned out that he had been touring with the grateful dead for 15 years...'till jerry died... mike happened to hear this and wanted to give the guy one of our new cd's... but they were all buried under bags and sound equipment... so he almost gave up, but felt the Lord really prompting him to find a cd... so he went to see if anyone had a seeds cd in their collection... and someone did! so he went out to give it to the guy who was driving away at this point.... and whistled after him, he stopped and got a cd... somehow this meeting was very important to us and we felt it was one of those 'wrinkles in time' those opportunities to share the good news to someone...
Another cool thing that happened was the show in Sopchoppy, a little village close to Tallahassee. sometime before Christmas, I Kristin, had been checking out cool hippieclothing on the web... among other cool sites I found this one called www.beeyeglad.com . it had some personal stories there too, and I thought to myself, "I bet this lady is a christian..." -and sure enough there was the amazing story of this girl that had toured with the grateful dead, done all kind of crazy stuff and how the Lord had brought her through it... it was such an honest story and it really encouraged me - (so I did what I don't usually do, I wrote her and thanked her, and told her that I was part of a christian 'hippie-band' called seeds, and that if she sent me her address I'd send her a cd... (thinking she'd never do such a thing thinking I was some waco...that just wanted her adr...)) but as she told me in her letter that night, she'd been at church and after the worship time she was talking to a friend about this christian hippie band named seeds, that they both had hear about but hadn't actually heard yet... so imagine her surprise when she came home and found my letter... so that's how our friendship began, and we ended up playing in her church in sopchoppy, and staying with her and her husband in their cool house on the beach.... it was wonderful to hear their stories of how they got married and wanted to walk on the narrow road, and how they left their culture and friends behind to follow Jesus... and when she got up and danced as we played - it was such a wonderful thing to see, her twirling and worshipping the Lord with her little hippie self!!!
We also went to West Palm Beach, to our friend Georges dads church, for a few days - and stayed with some wonderful people. Mike and I stayed with this couple that were old rez-band fans, and we got to see their lp collection of old Jesus music - Mark, you probably gave us the best intro we'll ever get... tying us together with the old Jesus movement music! we also ate some yummy Cuban food and got to pick our first oranges of the trees!!! in Georges parents garden,(see photo of the crew in the beautiful garden) and a mango that made it all the way back to Chicago.... "now, why don't live in Florida?" was the everlasting question after that...
Usually we play in churches and coffeehouses that have a christian following... so when our friend Noelle called and said she had a show for us in a bar - we didn't know what to think... but it turned out the Lord had a plan...after heading across and south to the gulf side, we ended up in an empty spring break party town... maybe 20 ppl showed up at the bar, but I think it was one of my favorite shows - it was just so great to talk to some of the guys that hung out there, and be a light in a dark place... we were really touched, and would love to do more shows in secular venues - as the Lord leads!
We also played at the cornerstone festival in Orlando, met a lot of good people there too, and hung out with some that live in busses and travel around and minister to the hippiekids and the rainbow gathering people. we are praying about doing some outreaches with them in the future.
After a few days in Sopchoppy soakin' in the sweet tea and hanging out with the church there we drove up to Georgia, to visit with some old friends, and play at their church. Early in the morning Tom got woke up by his host, who was so excited to show him this poster that an artist lady in the church had made for the seeds show that night. It was supposedly an incredible piece of art... "she's really outdone herself," he said as he drove Tom down to the church to see it... and there on the front door was the new seeds poster... which of course is our album cover... we love you brother, and your incredible excitement for the Lord!!!
In Bowling Green, Kentucky lives the biggest seeds fan we've ever met, and he happens to work at a radio station... what luck! so Geoffrey has been playing seeds for years on the WCVK Radio 90.7 Bowling Green, and when it worked out for us to play there, he started playing our new songs like crazy... 29 times a week he played 'Who am I' ... and so 500 people showed up at the concert there, and they knew all the words (better than us...) -it was very fun, and the Lord showed up and made it a worship time for all of us in the end...
We really wanne thank all of you who came out and supported and prayed for us, we were so encouraged by you all, and we're dreaming of another tour to Florida sometime in the winter... so let us know if that works with your plans....
5.04.2004Here we go! Twelve people in a 15-passenger maxi-van for 24 hours straight (know anyone who wants to donate an R.V.?). We're really excited for this Florida tour, and covet your continued prayers as we go. We hope to see you here, there, or in between. The new album seems to be selling well already (thank you) and we've heard some positive feedback. The July tour is coming together also, and when we return, I'll get more updates on the tours page. Vaya con Dios!
-Colleen et al
4.21.2004Rooted is born!!! Okay, I'll lay off the birth analogies now, and just let you order it. Drink in and savor (watch out: it has a little kick!).... then let us know what you think. If we like what you say, and if you don't mind, we may post some of your words up on the listener reviews. And unless there's only one person with your first name in your city, you'll remain somewhat anonymous (Sorry, Elvis. And Brunhilde). We'll soon have an announcement email going out, but since you're here now, you know first.
Today and next Wednesday, we in Seeds have committed to each other to fast and pray for our tour - for common clear vision, unity, receptive hearts, technical things, safety, fresh words to share, wisdom and sensitivity, boldness, refreshing of our hearts, for the kids to travel well, etc. We would really appreciate it if you would pray with us. Fasting is your own option (among us there are different extents and types of fasts we can do) but to have your prayers would mean a lot to us. And of course, you don't have to stick to Wednesdays. Continue to check the shows page for updates on the tours as we'll be adding them often.
4.17.2004The new site is here!!!! Whaddaya think?!! There is much rejoicing on our end, and we're very thankful to our friend Kristin Althoff for putting it together for us. We'll continue to add to it. We do have some news - and it's all good! First, Mike and Kristin are the proud parents to newbie Samuel Sky, born March 21st. He's their literal third child and is healthy and beautiful, bless the Lord. Second, we're only about a week away from the delivery of our figurative third, Rooted, and the suspense is killing the cat, curiously. Make sure you sign up for our email newsletters on the Seeds home page to hear about it. Lastly, please make sure you check out our tour dates, then come see us! We'd appreciate your help in getting the word out to your friends and family, both about the shows and the new site. I don't know about you, but here in Chicago, spring sure is a welcome sight! Get out and enjoy it.
-Colleen
2.18.2004Heyyyy! We've been busy planning tours and I thought we should let you know so you can join us, in one form or another. We have a May tour that is taking us down to Florida for Cornerstone Festival, then around Fla for a few days, then we'll work our way back north through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky. We still have a few open dates that we'd love to fill, so if you would like to promote a Seeds show, or know someone who would, please contact us! We are also in early stages of booking a July tour that will take us somewhere out west, with the most solid contacts being in the Denver area. If you live where the buffalo roam(ed) and the antelope play music with no discouragin' words, and want to do a Seeds show, let us know! We're not playing "Cow Pattie," though.
Pray for us in the next two weeks as we finish mixing the new album (Rooted). Mixing is one of those things that can go smooth as pie, or can hang you up on minute details for hours. Please pray the former. We SO look forward to getting this into your hands.
1.27.2004Happy new year. This is the Year of the Release of Seeds Project Number Three (that's how it reads on the Thai restaurant tabletop), only now this third child has a name. That name is....ROOTED. We are completely done with recording, as of mid-December, and are in the middle of mixing before it's sent off for mastering and manufacturing. Everything is going right according to schedule and we're excited. Our friend and fellow JPUSA (jeh-poo-zah) Hugo of South Africa is doing our album art. You may remember him from such album covers as: Parables Prayers and Songs and No Greater Love. Those were amazing, and he's outdoing himself this time.
Touring: Look for us at the summer festivals. It's highly possible that we will be doing a first-ever tour down Florida-way around Cornerstone FLA. Watch the shows page for details, more coming soon.
12.10.2003It's time for another quarterly update! I know, we're bad. We get the cool emails from Waterdeep and Over the Rhine and the like, and we know we should be better. Speaking of which, both aforementioned bands have recently made very big decisions to either cancel a tour or touring indefinitely. And they've made them for the right reasons and we salute them for it! (Waterdeep, we'll miss seeing you guys at common events, but are happy to hear of the upcoming new addition to the family!)
Our new project: We are SO close to completion! We have been in the studio all last week and this week and the Lord is really blessing our time. We're starting to see the songs take on their full character and that's a welcome sight!! Recording started in May, and like many other things in community living, it assumed third-world progress. But bless the Lord, all things in His timing. This is going to be a PACKED cd - there must be 70 minutes of music (all terrific stuff, I might add, if I may, and I will). We thought we had a title, but we're still stuck.... We'll be having some guest musicians come make contributions: Scott from Psalters, Mike Choby on upright bass, Tony of the Crossing on banjo and mando, our blues-afficionado pastor Glenn Kaiser on dobro, perhaps a few others. We're really excited about this album, and thank those of you who hang with us through the long haul. The plan is still to release in April, and it's possible that we'll be having a CD release party up at the Cup O' Joy in Green Bay, Wisconsin in May. We'll keep you informed. Well, that's it for now. Off to the studio!