God was guiding my path even before I embarked on my Journey. In August/September of 2007, a group from California prepared to attend a Journey together. I signed up for this event, but was soon told that there wasn’t enough room; I will have to attend the next Journey in November. I was pretty upset, but little did I know God was working to place in the team that will help me grow the most.

One of the biggest issues in my life was dealing with other guys. Because my interests differed so much from others and I enjoyed activities like writing compared to athletics, I was often excluded from their activities. Most of the time I was picked on or made fun of, and sadly sometimes the fathers of these boys would insult me without intentionally trying to hurt me—such as commenting negatively in my inability to play sports well. As a result, I refrained from associating with other guys as much as I could and resorted to solo activities.

When I first arrived at HQ, I was given a “perfect greeting” by all the staff that talked to me. I instantly felt welcome. But it was my group that caught my attention. I was the youngest, so I didn’t feel like I fit in with these older guys. But they did something I did not expect. They accepted me for who I was. They respected my interests, and told me a quiet spirit is something to be appreciated. I was never insulted or rejected, which surprised me especially during recreation. I’m pretty bad at athletics, but they let me play with them and even helped me learn. I didn’t need to put on a facade or act like someone else; I could be myself and they will respect me as I am.

This act of love did not pass me by unnoticed. In fact, I now believe it is what turned my heart towards God. I not only learned about Him, but I came to know Him. The love that my teammates showed me caused me to turn to God, the source of true love that fills our deepest void. I began to see Him as the faithful shepherd seeking His lost sheep, reaching out His arms, ready to take me into His arms and nurture me.

One special event occurred on the plane back home. As I sat in my chair on the airplane, God broke through the defenses around my heart. It was weakened by the love shown by people during my Journey, but this time He tore it all down. He reached deep into the raw core of my heart and began pouring His love into me. There was so much love, it overflowed my heart and poured into the rest of my body. It truly felt like “my cup runneth over.” Not only did I experience God’s love, but I was given a taste of His joy. I was so overcome by His presence that I began to cry. It was all I could do to hide my sobs from the people sitting around me. I opened my Bible to the Psalms and began to read, every now and then singing a song to the Lord in praise of His glory. God was meeting me there in my chair, in a small airplane where everyone was oblivious to God’s encounter with me.

For a week afterward, all I could do was stay in my room and cry and cry. God had broken through my rebellious heart and changed me from the inside out. From that day on, I have a passion for the Lord like never before. Even though I still go through hard times and times of being lukewarm and stale, my desire to seek God breaks through those times and makes me seek after the love and joy He had shown me. He has also given me the desire to use my passion for writing to bring about a web ministry that reveals God’s word to fellow believers and keep them renewed day by day.

Love is a powerful thing. When God shows you His love, reflect it to others because His abundance will never run out. Even though the guys on my team were as broken as I was, God used them as His vessels to channel His love into a wandering sheep. His love is what brings me to repentance. The love of Christ is undeniable. Once you have experienced the love and joy God gives His children, you will want no other pleasure on earth. You will know that your craving for affection; the void inside of you; can only be filled with the love of Christ, and that alone is worth living for.

~ Kyle
November 2007 Journey

Libby shared the following audio testimony with this last girls Journey right before they headed up to the Northwoods to seek the Lord.

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~ Libby
November 2007 Journey

“Let the little children come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven” ~Matthew 19:14

Today Lon and I watched as the young men in the ministry program here in Manila, worked with children that have been rescued from the street. The children here are resilient; nothing scares them. Not foreigners, not having their picture taken, high fives are given in abundance, and hugs and kisses are quite accepted. So much is their trust and literal hunger, it’s almost friendship from the start.

While they are in no way naïve, they are in a lot of ways still innocent. They smile, they laugh, they play, they even hug and love on you as if you were an older sibling or maybe even a parent. There is nothing shy about them but at the same time, they are not forward. In fact there is a quietness or maturity in their life that is quite lacking in your normal tender naïve youth.

I sat in the hot room, sweat dripping down my back, perspiration forming a moist coat over my body, watching, as the young men told a story, talked about Valentines day and led the children in singing, closing the time of ministry with juice and cookies, all the while smiling and sharing out of the abundance of their needs having been met.

I’ve heard it said by missionaries “We don’t preach love, we show love”. This is what these guys do. They show love. It’s a small amount of time a money invested, but it’s a priceless gift to these children.

It’s been an unforgettable experience meeting these children and getting just a tiny glimpse into their lives.

Iloilo, Philippines – February 2010

“He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep” ~ John 21:17

In the past four days, I have spoken 6 times and had one radio interview and I saw Jesus again tonight. I spoke to a group of girls and as I shared how God had met me in a very hard and painful emotional situation, I saw tears form in a girl’s eyes and knew that somehow, what I had said touched her heart and that God was using my vulnerability to do a work in her life.

I continued speaking and as I finished I witnessed Christ reaching out and healing three other girl’s hearts. It was awkward being vulnerable, it was uncomfortable and it was humbling, but it was Christ. Oh that I could see Him in this way more often.

Taitung, Taiwan – February 2010

“And whoever gives these little ones only a cup of cold water, in my name, assuredly I say unto you, he shall by no means lose his reward”  ~ Matthew 10:42

I saw Jesus again today; it was beautiful. I saw Him in the way the modern adulterous woman was forgiven and given new life. I saw Him in the care the nannies gave the babies of these women. I saw Him in the life of one woman, or girl really, whose baby was due today. I held these babies and whispered prayers over them. I told them they were loved, I watched them respond to my touch and to my voice. I saw beautiful innocence, and absolute trust. I received smiles, and coo’s in return.

In short, I saw Christ, and it touched me. This made my heart cry and my vision blur. My heart grew and my worldview changed; my view of Christ was enlarged. In ways, it was painful, but in others it was a blessing. The whole of it was a good and a perfect gift from God.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world…” I saw Christ and my heart broke. I saw Christ and I was humbled. I saw Christ and experienced complete trust. I lived out a part of “For God so Loved” that I had never known before. I received a good and perfect gift from God.

Brooke E. Martens

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If you are interested in taking part in an overseas ministry trip, visit the Institute in Basic Life Principles’ Global Encounters web site or email globalencounters@iblp.org.

In Bill Gothard’s Basic Seminar, he describes a new perspective on fully dedicating your life to Christ. He uses the illustration of a room with everything inside representing the things that you do in your life. This might include each activity you have become involved in or every subject that you’ve mastered. In this illustration, when you become a new Christian and dedicate your “life” to Christ, it is like you are  inviting Him to come into the room and allowing Him the freedom to have control of all the aspects of your life. Let’s say there is a box in the room for each of your accomplishments. If there is something that you want to hold on to and don’t want you new Roommate to know about or take away, you might build a closet, put the box on the top shelf out of reach, and lock the door. Then, you really aren’t giving God everything because you are still withholding that one little box in your closet!

As I was searching my heart, trying to figure out if there was any particular area in my life that I had not yet surrendered to God, He revealed to me an area where I had allowed myself to be in control. At first, I was unwilling to give this up because it wasn’t all bad. Just some of it was, so the good outweighs the bad and makes it ok to live with, right? Wrong!

I argued back and forth with God about it, and finally agreed to give it all to Him. I was able to discover that God wants to be the center of my life, and I need to be willing to let Him be in control of all aspects of my life, including my future.  The Lord showed me that He is my fulfillment; He is all that I will ever need to be happy. He also revealed to me that now is the perfect time for me to focus on serving the Lord through my current responsibilities.

I Corinthians 7:34-35 says – “The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.”

These verses prompted me to rededicate myself to focus on serving the Lord rather than pleasing myself. That alone has been life-changing for me, and now I am able to fully trust God to care for everything I will ever need or want! As challenging as it was, after I completely surrendered everything to God, I was finally able to experience true peace in my spirit.

In closing, I will just share one of the verses that suck out to me during this time of my life: Psalm 126:2-3: “Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.” Yes, God has done an awesome work in my life, and I am very glad!

~ Grace
September 2009 Journey

In the middle of the week I felt discontent, restless, and frustrated. My team had completed all the ungodly heart conditions, but my own cold and distant one had not broken yet. My guilty conscience tried to tell me that I’d already been changed and broken. However, I was to meet God in a powerful way later that night.

After dinner, we watched a video called Father’s Love Letter. God revealed Himself to me in such a loving way and showed me how needy I was spiritually. Consequently, there wasn’t one moment where I was not crying! Two particular verses stuck out to me: Ephesians 3:14-15 and John 1:12-13. These can be paraphrased: “I have always been Father, and will always be Father. My question is . . . Will you be my child?” Sadly, they spoke of my own spiritual condition.

I realized that I had been seeking God’s love from everything else except Him. I sought people’s acceptance over God’s, and had developed fears of rejection and man as a result. I looked to people for approval and guidance, while ignoring God my Father who loved me more than anyone else. This understanding broke my heart and filled me with shame and grief.

After the video ended, I got on my knees to pray, overwhelmed with the truth of the above verses. I cried out “Father God” and suddenly His love flooded my heart like never before. The rest of the week, I experienced such closeness with Him as I had never felt in the past. Only now do I understand how incomparable God’s love is. I love this paraphrase of Romans 8:31-32: “I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.”

Through the encouragement and direction of my team leader, I developed a habit of daily devotions and journaling. At the beginning of the week, she instructed us to have an hour of quiet time—something I was unaccustomed to—and I groaned inwardly at the thought of losing one whole hour of sleep. However, through the example set by the other girls and God’s grace, I instilled this precious habit. This alone has been more of a blessing than I ever could have imagined, as God has given me new eyes to see His Word and a fresh love for the Bible.

He also blessed me with godly friendships with my teammates. I came home with precious memories, a contrite heart, a yearning for God, and a joyous excitement to follow Him. God has truly changed my heart and given me a stronger desire for Him.

~ Annalise
September 2009 Girls’ Journey

Every time I’ve been tempted since getting back, I’ve sought Him for deliverance and grace. He’s giving me victory! I haven’t been such a free person since I was a child. This is the greatest thing that I have ever experienced! What’s amazing is that this is only the beginning! I have the rest of my life to live for God!

~ David
March 2009 Guys Journey

I joined a team of young ladies from all over the country this past week, who had gathered in Oak Brook, Illinois to begin a Journey to the Heart. It was a week of seeking after God and learning to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

On Sunday we enjoyed a day of fasting and prayer as Mr. Gothard shared Biblical principles that would help us prepare our hearts to seek our Savior. Monday morning, everyone packed their bags to take the seven hour trip to the Northwoods of Michigan. Each one of us was filled with joy in anticipation of what God was going to do!

I can testify that the presence of God was experienced throughout the entire week! Despite wide differences in ages and backgrounds, each of the girls came together and felt the rich blessing of a one-accord spirit.

While enjoying the great outdoors and taking in the splendor of God’s beautiful creation, we studied and learned to recognize seven sinful heart conditions (e.g. a fearful heart, a prideful heart, and an adulterous heart). We were amazed and convicted to see the sinfulness of our hearts, but had great rejoicing as we repented and looked to the Lord for His freedom, fullness, and joy. Confession of sin and a desire to make life-changing commitments brought deep rewards in many of the young ladies’ hearts. Times of memorization, prayer, singing, and crying out to God were very special.

Midway through the week, we set aside a special day to delight in the Lord and took time to fast and humble ourselves before Him. As a result we experienced the richness of God’s abundant grace!

We left the Northwoods with a song in our hearts, a perseverance to follow Christ’s commands, a freedom of repentance, and a deeper love for our Heavenly Bridegroom.

Upon returning to Headquarters, we worked through the commands of Christ with Mr. Gothard and learned what it is to become “fishers of men” with Mr. Garvin. There was also an opportunity in the evening for many of the young ladies to receive a verbal blessing from their fathers. God’s presence filled the room during this special time of prayer.

It was a Journey to be remembered for a lifetime! Not only did we come to know God in a more intimate way but special friendships were developed that will never be forgotten.

Praise be to Jesus for His love for us in doing exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think!

~ Sara
March 2009 Girls’ Journey

That is when I decided to go on a Journey to the Heart. This was the best decision I have ever made. It was a “launching pad” and the real beginning of my walk with God. I rededicated my life to Him and gave Him the next 10 years to do whatever He wanted with it. The small coal of my spirit was alive and the next couple months proved this as I encountered major struggles and the devil threw all the fiery darts he could find at me.

At this point, my relationship with God can be summed up in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Loving God is the only thing that matters. This is a simple applicable truth that I am and will continue to apply on a day to day basis for the rest my life.

~ Philip
July 2007 Guys’ Journey

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So many exciting, incredible things happened on the Journey, but the three most important to me were the hours of close fellowship with like-minded believers, the close fellowship I experienced with our awesome God, and the extra power I received through the anointing and laying on of hands.

The anointing for greater works and the laying on of hands has given me an amazing boldness and power to share God’s love with others. Before, I would have been so intimidated to approach strangers and share the love of Jesus, but now I am excited to talk with others.

God is bringing into my life so many to whom I can witness and disciple. I have set my goal of disciples to two million, and I am sure through God’s grace I can reach it! Thank you Mr. Gothard for giving of yourself for me and so many others. You have had a tremendous impact on my life and I pray that God would allow me to do the same!

~ Timothy
June 2008 Guys Journey