This blog has moved to ctimusic.org

Hello fans of CTI 14:22!


With the recent launch of our new website, we've moved our team blogs back to ctimusic.org. Stop by and check them out!  You won't be able to comment directly on the posts at the CTI site, but they will also cross-post to our facebook page, and we encourage your comments on them there.

Thanks!

HEEELLO WISCONSIN!

I guess it has been a while since we last updated from Coatesville, PA... but since then, we've been through Maryland, PA, CANADA!!!, OH, IN, and now Prairie du Chien, WI! We had an awesome time of worship and fellowship with our brothers and sisters at Cornerstone Foursquare Church last night, and we're about to head over to the Prairie du Chien Correctional Facility for a concert there tonight.

Thank you again for all your prayers and support! We've got only FOUR more days of winter tour left as we'll be heading to Boscobel, WI tomorrow, Menasha, WI on Saturday, Wheaton, IL on Sunday afternoon, and then all the way back to Willmar, MN Monday morning... so hopefully you'll keep praying for us as we continue to serve the Lord and further His Kingdom!

-eric

This is Denny....not Rachelle

hello friends

For the last week we were snowed in at Coatsville PA. We were originally going to be there for about 5 days but ended up staying an extra few days. This gave us a great opportunity to get to know our hosts there really well. Thanks to all in Coatsville for keeping us for an extra couple days...its greatly appreciated! So now after a bit of a break we are all excited to get back out there and "get er dun" for God's kingdom!

Utmost Regards, :)

Denny

CTI 14:22 at Water Street Rescue Mission

On Perfection

Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite - I'm with CTI this year challenging and encouraging people to live their lives fully committed to an amazing God, yet I myself struggle with sin and brokenness and imperfection that separate me from God. What authority do I have to be in a position of ministry when I'm just as weak as anyone else? The funny thing is, if we on CTI were perfect Christians, that perfection would actually isolate us from those we are out to minister to. Our weakness is what connects us with the people we encounter every day, because weakness is something that every single person on this earth has in common. Nobody is perfect, regardless of how much we would like to be, or how much of a front we put on so that others think we are. As Pastor Dan O'Deens from Gateway Church in Coatesville, PA (where CTI 14:22 played this past Sunday) said; "God's heroes are not perfect people. They are people who serve a perfect God."
We are not perfect. And we will never be. But God is. In our imperfection, in our weakness, in our brokenness, let's live to serve Him.

With love on behalf of 14:22,
Lesley.

CTI 14:22 at the YWCA in Coatesville, PA

Crazy times!

Hey all, its Matt(using Dan's blogger acct.) Rumor has it that I've never posted on this blog thing..well the time has come. These last few days have been pretty crazy, with a concert being postponed due to the trailer needing some repair, and another concert postponed due to heavy snowfall. So we soaked in a few extra days of rest and had an awesome time hanging out with some great hosts. This morning(friday) we got back out on the road and drove to where I'm sitting right now, Williamsburg, VA, where we led an awesome time of worship at an Intervarsity group meeting at the College of William and Mary. Thanks for praying for us as we travel!

A challenge for you..

I've been thinking a lot about Luke 12:22-34 which is Jesus telling His disciples not to worry about anything in this world because He will provide what they need. That concept is easy to hear and easy to agree with, but I often wonder if I believe that He will actually provide. To rely fully on God is not really something we as North Americans are comfortable with because we are so used to providing for ourselves. I challenge you not to pursue treasures on this earth and do as it says in Luke 12:31 "Seek His kingdom, and these thing will be given unto you..". I love that concept because it is something the world will never understand, because everything on earth is about attaining the nicest things. While treasures on this earth can be fun, they don't last. Verse 34 goes on to say "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also". I dont know about you, but I want my heart to be set on God's kingdom, a treasure that lasts forever. Thanks for reading!

-Matt

comin' at ya from the sunshine state.

Hey y'all, Jon here. Sorry it's been quite a while since our last update in Georgia. Well, since leaving Columbus, we've been to multiple towns in sunny Florida. God has definitely shown us heaps of things in our short time here.

so we went from this...


to this.


One of the things that we had a chance to do was just sit on the beach and marvel at God's creation after having a blast with the SOY group from Hurlburt Field AFB's youth retreat. Not only did we get to see God's creation in full splendor, we got to see what it means to give everything you have to further the kingdom of God, no matter what circumstances life throws at you. So our hosts at Hurlburt Field AFB, Cope and Sue, literally gave everything they have in order to invest in the lives of their students and in our lives as well for the short time we were there... their time, finances, life stories and experiences. Nothing was too much for them and they always did it with a joyful heart. And their love for their students definitely poured out and overflowed and the culture of their YG became much the same as how they lived out their lives. They weren't shy about sharing their pains and hurts and asking their students to lift them up in prayer... and their students weren't worried about what others thought about them or anything like that if they were to share their struggles. Thanks guys!

The other thing I experienced was the surreal experience of having two worlds collide. This past Friday, we had the opportunity to play at my home church. And it was great!


People from both Harvest (my church's English congregation) and Vision Church (my church's Korean congregation) were led in worship by the team. And while the whole experience of being back home, looking out into the congregation and seeing familiar faces, and looking around and seeing team 14:22, was odd, it was good to have an opportunity to share the mission and goals of CTI with my home church and to tell them a little bit about what we've been up to. And it was great to see that it didn't matter how different everyone was... we got a little glimpse of heaven that night. It didn't matter what language we spoke, what stage of life we were in... we all worshipped the God who deserves all of our worship. And no language barrier, power outage, and awkward pauses between sentences in explanations of experiences had so far, kept us from worshipping God. And what brought us together wasn't the fact that I attend Harvest or the fact that we happened to have a venue there, but it was the love of Christ that brought us together. And it was good to see and be reminded of the fact that there are people back home rooting for us and praying for us.


So thanks for everything family at Harvest!

We'll be in Florida for a little while longer and then we'll be heading north in the next few days. Thank you so much for your prayers and support!! We really couldn’t be doing this without you lifting us up in prayer!! Here are a couple more prayer requests for the following weeks:

· Safety as we travel (we’ve got some gnarly drives coming up... and we'll be heading up towards the snowy bits of the country.)

· Servant hearts (that we would continue to want the Lord to work mightily in us and through us)

· The hearts of people that we meet (that the Lord would be working even now in their hearts... that they’ll be ready to hear the message that He has for them)

Thank you again for all your support!!

btw... Photo props to Isaac Lee (jakleephotography.blogspot.com) and Sue Copeland. Thanks y'all. Until next time.

Cheers,
Jon

Some pictures from Columbus, Georgia

Our van got stuck in the mud, so we had to push it out:

Some animals at the Stephens' house:

Our concert at Calvary Christian School:

Week 2

Hello Friends and Family!

Welcome to week 2 of Winter Tour. We've just come down from stops in Illinois and Tennessee. We are currently with Aaron Stephens and his fiance, Sarah Hoagland, in Columbus, Georgia. It has been a really good time so far. We've seen a bunch of alumni on the road already, and all of our hosts and contacts have been nothing short of fabulous. We are looking forward to this upcoming week, especially as we continue heading south to warm weather and the beaches of Florida!

Many audience members come up to us after concerts and tell us what a blessing we were to them. What people do not realize, though, is just how much we are genuinely affected by every contact at every venue we come across. God's loving kindness is being displayed to us at every turn of our journey. We are constantly receiving reminders of his faithfulness and inner-workings in our lives and the lives of those we meet. This tour continues to be filled with stories of God's abundant grace.

Jeff, Team 14:22

Winter Tour Kickoff, Yeaaaah!

Team 14:22 just headed out to start our 11 week winter tour (hitting Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin - eek!), and we're so excited to be back on the road again after winter break! Our show at Rockford Rescue Mission this afternoon is the first show we've played together since the end of November, and we're all geared up to sing, rock out, and have some awesome ministry moments with those we're going to encounter today. Please keep us in your prayers as we begin this tour - pray for safe travels, open hearts, and that God will use us for His will and His purpose.

14:22 at Illinois College, November 17, 2009

Since many of those who read this blog won't get to see us on the road, I wanted to share a couple videos of our performances in Toronto this past November. (See? It's like you're there with us! Kind of, anyway.) Here's 14:22 covering "For All You've Done" and " Because of Your Love".

Happy New Year from 14:22!
Lesley.

Woohoo!

Yay! Everyone is back to Willmar after Christmas break! It was so awesome to see everyone again after being without our teammates for two weeks. And even though we've only gotten back, we're getting ready to leave for Winter Tour on Thursday! Today was a crazy day full of much needed rehearsal time, tomorrow will be tour prep day, and then early Thursday morning we leave already! Winter tour lasts for about 10 weeks, and our team is going to be traveling south down to Georgia, over to Florida, up the east coast, around back to Toronto, and back to Minnesota.

Please pray for safe travels for both teams. Thursday is supposed to bring some pretty nasty (typical) Minnesota weather, and both teams are scheduled to have about a 7-ish hour long drive.

With much love and pumped up-edness,
Rachelle

Annual Campaign Drive Stress Relief

Recording and Partnership Drive!

Hey everyone! So, it's been a while since we've last posted, and since then, a lot of stuff has been going on! During the time we've spent at home in Willmar we've been working on two very huge, very important projects!

1) Partnership Drive. Don't be surprised if you get or have gotten a call from a team member during these few weeks. It's been really cool to talk to alumni and all the people who support the ministry and make what we do possible.

2) Recording! CTI records an album every other year, and we're the lucky teams that get to be a part of it! A TON of work has gone into this project, and the Reed household has been taken over by sixteen musicians. It's been fun, stressful, crazy, difficult, and AWESOME, all at the same time. It's a lot of hurry up and wait in the studio, so there's lots of work going on, but also a lot of napping and facebooking as well.

The schedule is crazy, and sometimes it seems like we're going crazy, but God is still amazing and working through us even while we're not on the road. It's been so awesome to see these projects come together and have everyone working as one body to show God's awesome power.

Soon, we'll be going our seperate ways for Christmas break to celebrate Christ's birth. It's my prayer that while we're home for the holidays, we don't become lazy and complacent. Ministry isn't something that we should be able to turn on and off, it should become a part of who we are. So go listen to a bunch of overdone Christmas songs, eat way too many Christmas cookies, and watch the cheesy Christmas specials, but don't lose sight of the things that truly matter.

Here's a few pictures from the week that sum up a bit of what goes on during these few weeks.

O Canada

Hey everyone,

Since our time in Wheaton, we’ve ventured through Indiana, Michigan, and now, Canada!! We’ve had a blessed weekend with the fellow brothers and sisters at Chartwell Baptist at King’s in Oakville, ON, as well as those at Mountainview CRC in Grimsby, ON.

Here are some pictures from our time at Mountainview CRC:

In the next week, we’ll be playing at a couple more venues in the Greater Toronto Area. On Sunday, we’ll be making our way back to Willmar, MN, and hopefully get back by Monday afternoon.

Thank you so much for your prayers!! We really couldn’t be doing this without you lifting us up in prayer!! Here are a couple more prayer requests for the following weeks:

· Safety as we travel (we’ve got 2 days of 8+ hours of driving on Sunday and Monday as we make our way back to Willmar from Toronto)

· Servant hearts (that we would continue to want the Lord to work mightily in us and through us)

· The hearts of people that we meet (that the Lord would be working even now in their hearts... that they’ll be ready to hear the message that He has for them)

Thank you again for all your support!!

In Christ,

Eric

Heaven

We encounter many amazing people and interesting places on our travels with CTI. And just recently, we were able to get a sneak peek of a place that we could previously only imagine. According the Billy Graham Center Museum at Wheaton College in Illinois, this is what heaven looks like:
Now you know.

With love on behalf of 14:22,
Lesley.

Reflections on Overseas Ministry

CTI team 14:22 has returned safely from Taiwan! I can honestly say that the three weeks I spent overseas has changed my life, and taught me so many lessons about myself and my faith. When you're halfway around the world, and experiencing culture shock, and don't speak the language, and have spent 36 hours traveling, and you're sick with a nasty cold, and have no time to rest, and really miss people back home, and you have to be upbeat and enthusiastic about sharing God's love when you don't even feel it yourself at the moment...you reach a breaking point. About three days into our trip I just felt so...done. I had come to the end of myself, and had no more to give. I was exhausted. I felt so broken. I didn't like being in Taiwan at all. I wanted to be anywhere else than where I was. And I had more than two weeks left to get through!

It was in that weakness and complete brokenness that I learned an incredible lesson. I knew that I didn't want to waste my time in Taiwan, and that even though I wasn't feeling it, I was so blessed with the opportunity to be there. And the only way that I could really embrace that was by giving the situation to God. I was at the end of myself, and needed God to take over. I had to give up my selfish wants, give up trying to control everything, give up my expectations of the trip, and allow God to change my heart and my attitude. That was my prayer that night...for God to change me, for Him to open my eyes to the experience and opportunities that were before me in the coming weeks.

And oh my goodness, did I change. I felt like I had gotten past myself, pushed through what was holding me back, and it was only then that I was able to do what I had traveled 36 hours to do - use my voice and my words and my heart to minister to others.

I want to share with you a story of how I saw God at work in Taiwan. I wrote this as part of my written reflection to CTI right after we got back last week:

We played a concert at a medical university in Chung-Li, Taiwan, in an atrium that many students passed through on their way to classes. The show was hosted by the college's campus ministry, but was open to all students, and by having the concert in a passageway the hope was to get people's attention as they walked by and share the message with those who might not know about God. After the concert was finished, each of us on the team were asked to lead a small discussion group where the students had the chance to ask us any questions they may have about us personally, and us as a ministry.

CTI 14:22 in Chung-Li, Taiwan

In my small group all the students were Christians, except for one girl – but I didn’t know this, and I assumed everyone there was already a believer. The group asked me to share my testimony, which I did. After telling my story, I could see that this girl was a little uncomfortable, and wanted to say something. She then told me that she wasn’t a Christian, but she knew about God and had been thinking about coming to Him - but she felt that since she hadn’t known Him all her life and wasn’t baptized that she was not good enough or not worthy to. I saw this as a huge opportunity from God to share more with her – since I didn’t grow up a Christian I could completely relate to where she was, being in her early twenties and feeling that pull towards Christ, but being unsure and a little afraid of it too. God gave me this amazing opportunity to share the story of how I came to Him, to share some of the struggles I encountered along the way, and to share the story of my baptism last year. I have often felt that because I’ve only been a Christian for a few years, and because I have made so many mistakes along the way, I’m inadequate to share God with others because I don’t feel qualified to do so. I don’t feel like I have the experience, or the authority to minister to others. But at that moment, I felt like my experience and struggles and my journey towards God was a tool to help someone, instead of an obstacle to ministry. And I could see on the girl’s face she was reassured, and so encouraged by the fact that someone else had felt the same as her. I hope that her life has changed, and that she has the confidence and assurance to walk towards God now. Although I won’t ever know for sure, I feel like the seed I planted in her may have changed her life; and I trust that God is working in amazing ways.

Playing a concert at a nursing school in Taiwan, and meeting with the students afterwards

We're back in Minnesota now, and are leaving on Saturday for our USA/Canada fall tour. Bring on the adventure! There is no one like our God, and there is nowhere else I would rather be this year than serving Him.

With love on behalf of 14:22,
Lesley.

Team 14:22 Arrives Safely

Team 14:22 arrived back in the U.S. safely this evening!

After a lot of traveling and coming back across the international date
line, they are understandably tired. But, the joy of the Lord shines
through their tiredness.

From all acounts it was a wonderful trip with lots of stories of God
working in and through the team!

Check back soon for more updates from the team!

Last Day

It's our last day in Taiwan. Our journey here has been full of adventures. We've only been in country for 16 days, and we've played 20 concerts in hospitals, schools, churches, and outdoor plazas. After every concert, we received reports of God's grace being bestowed upon people's lives through our music, testimonies, and drama. Last night, after we had performed our last concert in Taipei, a girl came up to me and told me that she really sensed God's love flowing through our music, and she decided to re-dedicate her life to Him. What an amazing testament to God's work being done here through us!
The YWAM staff here has been incredible. Mayi (our main contact, translator, coordinator, and essentially, babysitter) has been very good to us and even took us to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial, Shi Lin night market, and Taipei 101 (the world's second? tallest building). A typical day in Taiwan for us usually consists of breakfast at our usual spot, perhaps a morning or afternoon concert, lunch (potstickers!), and supper and an evening concert at a University somewhere in and around Taipei. Many evenings after the concerts, we will roam the streets of Danshui, where there happens to be a bustling night market which usually consists of flying scooters, plenty of bubble milk tea, other various meat/pastry products, some strange and unknown fruits, and best of all, the 10NT store (about 30cents USD). Taipei has been a blast for all of us. We have plenty of stories and experiences to share. God has done some marvelous things in our team.
We also cannot wait to come back and share with you all the love and encouragement that we have received from the people here in Taiwan. We look forward to our return and continual touring in the States and Canada. We leave tomorrow afternoon for Minneapolis via South Korea and Chicago.
Until then,
Jeff on bealf of Team 14:22

1 more week

Greetings family, friends, and supporters,

I want to first just thank you all for your prayers over the last couple of weeks. Never before have I ever felt prayers so strongly. When I have been discouraged and felt alone, I know that I can always hold on to the prayers of the people from back at home. So thank you all, and we love you very dearly.

Please continue to pray for us during this last week here in Taiwan. Some team members are itching to get home, while others just love it here and don't want to leave. Pray that we continue to make the most out of each day, while ministering to people at every school and church we visit.

We will update once more before we depart for Minnesota this Saturday. Thanks for reading our posts!

~jeff hau, on behalf of Team 14:22